Asking Freeholder for permission to extend

ironhorse

ironhorse

ironhorse

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NW England
I own a 3 bed semi worth in the region of £130,000 and pay £50/year ground rent.

I'm looking to extend and want the freeholder's permission to build, so I contacted the broker/management company that handles the ground rent and this is the reply I got

"A fee in the sum of £819.00 plus VAT for consent made payable to Leasehold Property Management Limited. This fee is our costs in communicating with you, reporting to your freeholder, taking your freeholder’s instructions, studying and filing the plans."

Does this sound reasonable to you, anyone have experience in this? Nearly a grand for what.

They expect me to send a cheque with no breakdown of costs or invoice just an email asking for £'s

I don't mind paying for permission if that's what I have to do but it's not what I had budgeted for, more like £200-£300.

Thoughts people?
 
Thanks for that, I have emailed LPM the management company, asking for contact details of the Freeholder, as they are legally obliged to tell me this information. just waiting on a response.
 
They're trying it on. You can negotiate this direct with the freeholder, unless the freeholder doesn't want to know and wants the management company to handle it all in which case you're stuck with whatever they want to charge.

Why not just move to a bigger house rather than invest in a property you don't own?
 
covenantuk said:
They're trying it on. You can negotiate this direct with the freeholder, unless the freeholder doesn't want to know and wants the management company to handle it all in which case you're stuck with whatever they want to charge.

Why not just move to a bigger house rather than invest in a property you don't own?
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I'm going to try and get in touch with the freeholder directly and see where that takes me.

The reason I'm not moving to a bigger house is the fact that it's cheaper to extend than to move where we live, the £40,000 spent on our house will give us 4 bed 2 reception & garage, but I can't find anything similar on the market for £170,000. And then there's the moving costs & estate agent fees and the hassle of having ours on the market for ages.
 
I will buy the freehold deffo in the future but the price they wanted last time I asked was prohibitive, and at this moment in time all the money is needed for the extension.

It's worrying when you read into this that although you may own your house, if the land it's built on is someone else's then you don't own your own house :(

I wish someone had told me this 15 years ago before I bought my first home, when I was young and didn't know any better.

There's a warning for all you youngsters looking to get on the property ladder. look at buying the freehold as well, it'll save a lot of hassle later on trust me, I'm learning the hard way :(
 
Surely it makes more sense to get hold of that freehold before you go spending major money on a house you don't 100% own, because as soon as you pour all that money into the house they may then decide they really don't want to sell the freehold.
 
Yup, pretty much that or negotiate a new lease.

Leases are usually 999 years nowadays. When I was young there were still some 99 year leaseholds about with 25-50 years already expired...
 
tom_e said:
Surely it makes more sense to get hold of that freehold before you go spending major money on a house you don't 100% own, because as soon as you pour all that money into the house they may then decide they really don't want to sell the freehold.
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That's sort of true, it would have been nice to buy the Freehold before hind but hindsight is a bich :(

but the second part of your statement is incorrect.

Leaseholders have a legal right under the Leasehold Reform Act 1967 to buy the freehold of their house if they meet certain qualifying criteria. Which means that the Freeholder cannot refuse to sell you the land.
 
ironhorse said:
Leaseholders have a legal right under the Leasehold Reform Act 1967 to buy the freehold of their house if they meet certain qualifying criteria. Which means that the Freeholder cannot refuse to sell you the land.
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You learn something new every day :), makes sense I suppose.
 
Hotwired said:
So uh, what happens when the freeholder wants their land back?

They claim the whole house as theirs?
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Not quite, if you break one of the rules of your lease such as not paying ground rent, then the Freeholder can take you to court with the worst case scenario being him asking for eviction :(

covenantuk said:
Yup, pretty much that or negotiate a new lease.

Leases are usually 999 years nowadays. When I was young there were still some 99 year leaseholds about with 25-50 years already expired...
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That's true, mine was 999 years so I've got lots of time left on it

here's what happens at the end of the lease according to the Leaseholder Advice Website:

What happens when my lease runs out?

The fact that the lease has expired does not mean that you have to leave the property. Unless you or your landlord takes specific steps to end the tenancy it will simply continue on exactly the same terms. You do not need do anything unless you receive a notice from your landlord For the tenancy to actually come to an end either:

1. you formally surrender the tenancy if you choose to do so, or:
2. the landlord serves a prescribed notice on you to gain possession of the property. The landlord will need a court order to gain possession of the property, or:
3. the landlord may serve a prescribed notice proposing an assured periodic tenancy, where you pay a monthly rent.
If none of the above have occurred you are still holding over as a tenant and it may still be possible to extend the lease or buy the freehold.
 
I've reminded myself how horrible it is to read important legal documents.

Ofc its so people cant blag their way to something they shouldn't but by god is it a chore to read the dam things.
 
covenantuk said:
Yup, pretty much that or negotiate a new lease.

Leases are usually 999 years nowadays. When I was young there were still some 99 year leaseholds about with 25-50 years already expired...
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Leases on houses are - but flats are still sold at 99 or 125 year and a totally differnet ballgame.

OP do you have the remainder of a 999yr? I wouldn't have thought the purchase of the freehold is much more than what they are asking. There is no value to the freeholder in terms of capital just the £50 a year. Make them an offer to buy it...then you can do what you want.
 
ironhorse said:
Leaseholders have a legal right under the Leasehold Reform Act 1967 to buy the freehold of their house if they meet certain qualifying criteria. Which means that the Freeholder cannot refuse to sell you the land.
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What criteria do you have to meet to do this? E.G if you're in a block of flats and you own yours?
 
Monkeynut said:
What criteria do you have to meet to do this? E.G if you're in a block of flats and you own yours?
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It gets messy where flats are concerned as all the tenants in the block must get together to purchase a group enfranchisement, I think that's what it's called. Then you have to set up a management between the tenants. Not easy at all.

have a look on the LEASE website for more info.
http://www.lease-advice.org/

For houses it's just a case of:
1. own the house for min 2 years
2. The lease must be a long lease, originally for a term of more than 21 years or with a right to renewal.
3. The house must be a building reasonably considered a house, divided vertically from any adjoining house.
 
Haven't read the thread.
As long as its not a flat, you can buy your freehold, it costs whatever arrears are due plus 9 or 10 years amount of lease, buy it out, and tell them to FO.
Ask your solicitor, don't pay him anything, just ask.
Buying out ground rent should be a simple process.
An archaic device to keep the wealthy landowners wealthy.
Everyone should buy it out when they first purchase a property.
 
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