they need a aletter direct from a solicitor to all of them setting out that if they do not cease they will be sued. Unfortunately this will cost you money
thanks @Colin3 , I am also waiting for my letting agent who is also managing my property to advise on this matter as well and see if they have anyone practicing in the property and leasehold field could advise.
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do you know who the freeholder is?
You seem to think anyone with a contrary view is ignorant, etc but you probably should have done better diligence on this when you bought the flat from the building regs, lease and common sense perspectives. I can see it is an easy mistake to make and hindsight is a wonderful thing but before going legal why donât you get a building regs consultant round to confirm that the roof can in fact be used as a terrace? A good place to start is go back to original planning permission documents that will be available and see if they refer to a terrace. If it wasnât built to be a terrace then itâs on you.
@Colin3 , all the 4 flat owners including myself are the share of the freeholders (999 years from 2017) of the building. There was a company formed on behalf of all freeholders and building management is hired to look after the management of the building on behalf of all the freeholders. This building management was just brought in by one of the flat owners after she got rid of the previous building management and this new building management is acting biased and unprofessionally to please his master who brought him in for the sake of keeping the business.
need legal advice. Getting more complicated
@Graham , as I said in previous post, the roof terrace is a proper terrace and it is included in the building plan and the lease.
if it was not built to be a terrace then it is a roof so all share cost
is it a bitumen roof with tiles glued on?
@Colin3 , yes my terrace has tiles on top of the roof, the lease has included the extension building plan for both the basement flat and my roof terrace when the building work was done. Inside the lease, it clearly states anything under the floorboard is not part of any flat ownerâs responsibillity and it is shared.
I have repaired in the past a similar roof on a big block that had a penthouse on top. All shared the cost.
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Any one has any advice on any solicitor I could possibly reach out to for legal advice at all? I am also reaching out to leasehold advisory council for advice tomorrow by appointment suggested by @Colin3 .Thanks.
Look at the original planning approval. The other docs you refer to have no bearing on the matter. You seem to be avoiding any evidence that could refute your argument. And do you really think that when it was built the other leaseholders would agree to be liable for it for no reward? Nobody takes on responsibility for something for free. This story does not add up.There should have been an amendment to the lease agreement at that time bringing the roof into the agreement in exchange forâŚwhat? And why would owner of basement flat build roof to standard it could support a terrace then gift it for free to owner of your flat?
@Graham , the extension was built by a single owner who owned both the basement and the raised ground floor flat which is now my flat and sold to current owners, and freehold was only bought by all the flat owners and lease was drafted after the freeholders formed the company to manage the building.
In the first instance, book a call with the Leasehold Avisory Service and they may ask for a copy of the lease beforehand. Their advice may well be that you need a Solicitors letter, but if they spot anything with the lease it would save you money.
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thanks @David122 , these people have all ignored the lease and request for seeking legal advice collectively, and I am not confident they would respect any opinion from any solicitor either, plus a unprofessional building management sided with them to keep the building management business. If they did not want to move this forward in a professional way, it is not my problem. I will have to ignore them unless they behave with decency.
Yes, you can do nothing as long as you are certain that the clause in the lease includes the flat roof.
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Appoint a solicitor today.
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Why would the planning approval be relevant when looking at this from a legal perspective? If the lease states it is a shared responsibility, then the planning approval is not relevant. The other freeholders signed the lease when they purchased their respective properties, and they would all need to agree on a deed of variation if they want to change it now. I agree with you that there isnât much logic in the current lease, but I have read quite a few leases now (I know, I need to get a life), and unfortunately many have a lot of clauses / conditions that donât make sense.
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Because it may not have permission for use as a terrace, and may not have followed building regs for a terrace. In other words, it was never a terrace and using it as such has caused the damage for which the author would be solely responsible for.