Split freehold and lease problem with 2 flats

peter_thomas_2

Thanks for the advice regarding inherited terms etc. As for targeting the flat to the retired market those that were intersted have been made fully aware f the problems of re sale by themselves or their children and have withdrawn from the sale.

Also recently our estate agent tried to show a prospective purchaser around and found the joint outside door to the communial courtyard bolted and had to give up on the showing. I am looking into this as I rights to full access at any time to my property.

And so it goes on.........

Richard_Webster

I have a friend who is going through the same problem at the moment and is very worried about her flat becoming unsaleable. She owns a ground floor maisonette and has a share of the freehold with the owner of the first floor flat and also a leasehold. The other freehold owner is currently living in Spain and renting out her flat. My friend has a buyer but the other freehold sharer is refusing to sign the freehold transfer form.

Is there anything that can be done about this, without the signed documents my friend will loose her sale and likely also, the new property she is attempting to buy?

Not a lot that you can do easily. You would have to persuade a court that there was an implied trust that the freehold would always belong to the flat lessees and therefore the other freeholder was in breach of trust in not signing - and going to court over the point could be quite expensive - £Thousands.

Your solicitors could see if they could persuade the Land Registry of this without going through the courts but I wouldn't give a lot for your chances.

This is always a problem with literally shared freeholds (as opposed to those owned by companies in turn owned by the flat owners). When you bought your solicitors should have made you aware of the possible difficulty in the future.