Owning your own home

There is a form you need to fill out, linked from https://www.openreach.com/help-and-support/obtaining-wayleaves

Yeah checked out the wording in the electronic communications code, and it aligns with what's on that form. Wayleave relates to poles, boxes, that kind of thing. They don't need any permission to run a wire over your garden as long as it's 2m+ from a building.

I'll just forget about any extra pocket money, or having a fire in my garden. The neighbors will be happy.

Who did you order these from please?

Not placed an order yet, but I’m talking to Access Garage Doors

I'll be interested to see the results.

I know I need to speak to a solicitor on this, but wondering if anyone here has been through something similar regarding freehold purchase.

I live in a block of 50 flats (poorly maintained 1930's building). The freeholder has submitted a planning application to build 2 floors on top of the existing building for 9 new apartments. Will have a separate entrance and zero refurbishment planned for the current structure which is lined with asbestos.

I'm wondering as leaseholders if we can try and purchase the freehold to block this. Residents tried to buy the freehold some years back but only 15 flats out of the 50 wanted to do it.

Guess my question is, if the planning application is successful - will that increase the price we'd have to pay for the freehold? And grateful for any other general thoughts / advice on this if anyone has experienced similar.

Someone has spoken to a solicitor but I'm not getting a clear picture of what the results of that conversation were and hence I want to look into it myself. Apparently we'd have to do a survey to determine the cost of the freehold and they've been quoted 7k to do that and that's put them off.

Thanks in advance

You need 50% to buy the freehold, right?

Do you think you can achieve that? 25 (or 29.5)? Lots of people simply can't afford it and others simply have no interest (arguably a vicious life circle, but that's another thread).

Anecdotally, in our last place, we were one of two leaseholders in a block of six (the rest Council tenants) and it was frustrating that a lot of things had to fall into place for us to buy the freehold and have some autonomy. We only needed one more willing household.

Not sure if the cost of the freehold purchase will increase, if planning is granted.

yeah I believe we'd need 25. Which may be plausible given the new scenario - but I'm guessing likely cost prohibitive. There aren't many owner / occupiers in the block so appetite isn't huge unfortunately.

I just want a clear take on it so we can make a proper informed decision. If anyone recommends a solicitor that may be particularly good for this I'd be keen to know.

Flat's been on the market for a week, not a single bit of interest. Don't know if it's Strike being shit and not passing on the message or there's something wrong with the listing. There's equivalent flats nearby for the same or more money so I don't think the price is off. Annoying.

You're not on the Lea Bridge Road are you? We're in the same position in a similar block. Here's what we found out.

1. If you're the freehold owner, you can block any planning permission, but buying a freehold is a long term solution - planning permission is a short term problem
   
2. If they're granted planning permission it's very likely that that will increase the value of the freehold, making it more difficult for you to actively buy it. The solicitors we spoke to suggested that this is one of the main reasons freeholders are looking into this now, since the planned leasehold reforms are likely to fuck a lot of their revenue streams, so they're looking to get out.
   
3. However (and check this as I'm not 100%) I believe if the freeholder decides to sell it, they have to offer it to you as part of the Right Of First Refusal for no more than they paid for it. This is one of the reasons it might be better to wait, and block planning permission through other routes.
   
4. If you do go down this route I can recommend a planning expert who wrote a report for us and plans to present it to the planning committee on why they shouldn't grant permission.
   
5. Thank god we live in 1930s blocks because if the block was built after 1960something they wouldn't need to apply for planning permission at all.
   

interesting question, I am in a similar situation in an 8-flats block.
I believe a broker would be a cheaper first step into assessing the cost than directly appointing a surveyor, but obviously this is non-contractual.

I believe the freehold will increase. The freeholder could very only apply for planning and sell that along with planning permission, as an investement opportunity.

Won't the additional two floors be under PD rights than a planning application?

Ah interesting. Very close, not quite lea bridge road, but clapton. Not same block I assume?!

point 2 - frustrating
point 4 - thank you - one of the other residents has already got someone on board to do this, we've all submitted our objections and they're also contacting the planning department.
point 5 - read the same only last night.

@glws thanks (re broker), and fuck (on cost increase).
@leggy_blonde don't know what PD rights are but it's gone to the planning department already so definitely a planing application.

About the right to buy the freehold, you don't need all flats to be committing. However if some of the owners can't make that investment, someone still has to pay for their share (of freehold ). You could build-up a group of residents willing to buy out all the shares ?
Effectively you'd become a freeholder :)

isn’t there a 30m height thing for PD? so if the block is tall then it’s normal planning not PD
no idea how many floors is 30m.

show the listing an be prepared for a savage critique of your decor/furniture

I think it's built in the 1950s or after for PD rights, earlier you need planning.

A 1930s block near me had planning turned down for a two storey extension. They went back and got permission for a one storey addition that looked very much like a stitch-up (50+ objections with relevant arguments were pretty much ignored).

However if some of the owners can't make that investment, someone still has to pay for their share (of freehold ). You could build-up a group of residents willing to buy out all the shares?

The bit I would want to investigate wrt to this is whether the freeholder can somehow split the future units / development potential from the existing flats before granting enfranchisement. It does not help OP if residents buy shares of freehold relating to their own flats but the original freeholder still owns the loft space.

I would be suprised if this was possible. A freehold resting on another freehold ? Owning a freehold means the enveloppe and footprint of one building.
In my mind it would rather mean that someone owns multiple shares of freehold in the building ( the newer upper flats ). If a collective buy-out of the freehold occurs before extension, then all freehold sharers would be entilted to ask for a compensation for the gain the investor makes by developping the upper floors.

I would be suprised if this was possible. A freehold resting on another freehold ? Owning a freehold means the enveloppe and footprint of one building.

We have something like this in our building. The block is three layers of residential and one layer of commercial, and the commercial property has been split out from the residential so that it sits under a head lease with a different freeholder to the one we have for the residential. Dodgy as hell imo but no-one seems to be able to tell me what I can do about it, if anything.

Flying freehold?

However (and check this as I'm not 100%) I believe if the freeholder decides to sell it, they have to offer it to you as part of the Right Of First Refusal for no more than they paid for it.

There's a right of first refusal under Part 1 of the LTA87, although the freeholder has to offer the freehold at the price they're proposing to sell it for, not the price they paid for it. It's also quite easy to avoid having to give a right of first refusal if you know what you're doing. Frankly, Part 1 of the LTA87 should be repealed now the right of collective enfranchisement under the 1993 Act is available.

The bit I would want to investigate wrt to this is whether the freeholder can somehow split the future units / development potential from the existing flats before granting enfranchisement.

They could, by granting a long lease of the airspace above the building in which the development will be carried out. It's pretty common, although there may be LTA87 right of first refusal issues for the freeholder if they try to do that.

I would be suprised if this was possible. A freehold resting on another freehold ? Owning a freehold means the enveloppe and footprint of one building.

It's possible to create flying freeholds (i.e. a freehold above another freehold) but it's fraught with problems and something anyone sensible avoids like the plague. There are flying freeholds in Lincoln's Inn, but they've governed by an Act of Parliament to resolve any potential problems.

There's no reason why the freehold has to be the entire building though. Sometimes a block of flats can be split between two or more different freeholds. It's known as a 'split reversion'.