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Inderdeep
Inderdeep,
Category: Law
Satisfied Customers: 449
Experience:  Expert
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I'm about to buy a leasehold top floor flat from a

Customer Question

Hi
JA: Hi. How can I help?
Customer: I'm about to buy a leasehold top floor flat from a freeholder. The lease says the freeholder retains the roof and its internal structure. How would I go about getting a loft conversion if the freeholder retains the roof?
JA: Where are you? It matters because laws vary by location.
Customer: London Croydon
JA: What steps have you taken so far?
Customer: About to buy, the old house has only just been converted to 3 leasehold flats
JA: Is there anything else the Lawyer should know before I connect you? Rest assured that they'll be able to help you.
Customer: Want to know if I need share of freehold or If I can do a licence to alter, but lift is retained
Submitted: 17 days ago.
Category: Law
Inderdeep
Expert:  Inderdeep replied 17 days ago.
Thank you for using just answer i will be assisting you today.
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Expert:  Inderdeep replied 17 days ago.

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Customer: replied 17 days ago.
Hi I thought it was free advice for £5?
Expert:  Inderdeep replied 17 days ago.

If the loft is not demised to you under the terms of the lease and belongs to the freeholder you cannot undertake any works. If the loft is demised to you under the terms of the lease you will still require permission of the landlord to undertake any works, usually a licence in addition to any consents from the local authority. You would need to check the terms of the lease.

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Customer: replied 17 days ago.
It's not demised to me at the moment as freeholder has retained it. How would I go about changing that?
Expert:  Inderdeep replied 17 days ago.

The difficulty is this is a leasehold property so all leases for the block will be identical in granting the same rights and obligations. You could not change the lease to suddenly demise the loft area to you.

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Customer: replied 17 days ago.
What if I got share of freehold?
Expert:  Inderdeep replied 17 days ago.
You only have a share of the freehold so the other freeholders consent is still required, as well as updating the lease terms and plans to incorporate the loft.
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