Freehold House with Leasehold Garage - Insurance

finallysinkingin

Hi

Trying to sell my freehold house that has a leasehold garage that is under a coachhouse.  The deeds to the garage state that I have to insure the garage in joint names with the coachhouse freeholder, I understand that this is different to the usual coachhouse setup.

My house has the standard buildings insurance but I'm struggling to find an insurance company to insure the garage - does anyone know or can suggest any that would help with the above situation?

Thanks
Andy

canaldumidi

How long have you lived there and how has the garage been insured?

NameUnavailable

I think the arrangement with these type of properties is that the coach house owner insures the building and you contribute towards the cost (for the buildings insurance).

justcat01

NameUnavailable said:

I think the arrangement with these type of properties is that the coach house owner insures the building and you contribute towards the cost (for the buildings insurance).

I have the same and this is mine. The freeholder has to insure the property but has the right to ask you to contribute to the cost. As it happens, in 6 years, they have never asked for payment.

canaldumidi

justcat01 said:

NameUnavailable said:

I think the arrangement with these type of properties is that the coach house owner insures the building and you contribute towards the cost (for the buildings insurance).

I have the same and this is mine. The leaseholder freeholder? has to insure the property but has the right to ask you to contribute to the cost. As it happens, in 6 years, they have never asked for payment.

Are you sure that's what you meant?

OP - might be worth posting on the insurance board here:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/insurance-life-assurance

justcat01

Ah, yes, I meant the freeholder! I'll update my post so it isn't misleading. Thanks for spotting it!

finallysinkingin

Thanks for the replies so far.

been in the house since it was built (2010) and always insured the garage as part of normal buildings insurance but now understand that it’s probably not insured as part of the house!

Seems we have different deeds to majority of coach houses in that we have to insure garage but in joint names with coach house owner (freeholder) but I can’t find an insurance company to do so even been to specialist brokers.  Occupant of coach house isn’t willing to insure either (we’ve offered to pay the cost in full) so we’re stuck.

eddddy

finallysinkingin said:

Thanks for the replies so far.

been in the house since it was built (2010) and always insured the garage as part of normal buildings insurance but now understand that it’s probably not insured as part of the house!

Seems we have different deeds to majority of coach houses in that we have to insure garage but in joint names with coach house owner (freeholder) but I can’t find an insurance company to do so even been to specialist brokers.  Occupant of coach house isn’t willing to insure either (we’ve offered to pay the cost in full) so we’re stuck.

What does the coach house owner think they have insured?

The coach house and garage(s) are all one building, so one policy would normally be arranged to cover the whole building.

Did the coach house owner explain to their insurers about the coach house / garage(s) set up? Or did they just buy a standard house insurance policy - perhaps online via the comparison sites?

If they just bought a standard house insurance policy, it's likely to be unsuitable for a coach house - so they might not be insured.

finallysinkingin

eddddy said:

finallysinkingin said:

Thanks for the replies so far.

been in the house since it was built (2010) and always insured the garage as part of normal buildings insurance but now understand that it’s probably not insured as part of the house!

Seems we have different deeds to majority of coach houses in that we have to insure garage but in joint names with coach house owner (freeholder) but I can’t find an insurance company to do so even been to specialist brokers.  Occupant of coach house isn’t willing to insure either (we’ve offered to pay the cost in full) so we’re stuck.

What does the coach house owner think they have insured?

The coach house and garage(s) are all one building, so one policy would normally be arranged to cover the whole building.

Did the coach house owner explain to their insurers about the coach house / garage(s) set up? Or did they just buy a standard house insurance policy - perhaps online via the comparison sites?

If they just bought a standard house insurance policy, it's likely to be unsuitable for a coach house - so they might not be insured.

Coach House owner has said she hasn’t got any insurance and has no interest in taking any out as she’s out of the country for months at a time! 

Freecall

finallysinkingin said:

Coach House owner has said she hasn’t got any insurance and has no interest in taking any out as she’s out of the country for months at a time! 

Ah, that makes perfect sense then.

  

eddddy

finallysinkingin said:

Coach House owner has said she hasn’t got any insurance and has no interest in taking any out as she’s out of the country for months at a time! 

OK - so if their house burns down, they're happy to pay to rebuild it.

Depending on the precise wording of your lease, it's likely that the Coach House owner is breaching the terms of your lease by failing to insure.

So if something happens to the garage which you would normally make an insurance claim for (e.g. fire, flood, break in) you could probably sue the Coach House owner for your losses. But that probably won't help with selling your house.


You could threaten the Coach House owner with a court order instructing them to adhere to the terms of the lease and insure the building. But getting a court order would be massively expensive, and most buyers would walk away from a property with a freeholder who was that difficult.