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Currently in the process of seeking an extension of the lease, an inspection by the freeholder’s surveyor has shown that the floor plan is different from the original lease. The bathroom was moved before I bought the flat in Brent Council area, but the floor plan hadn’t amended at the time of purchase. The freeholder is accusing me of a breach of the lease and demanding that I reinstate the property back to the original plan by April and pay all his legal costs. On top of all this, I've had to take the freeholder to a tribunal to extend the lease as he's made it nigh on impossible for me to extend. If he can find a legal challenge to be awkward, he uses it.
I’ve found the previous owner who made the alterations back in 1991. They’re adamant they sought the permission of the freeholder and the council. However the previous owners do not want to get involved in the tribunal case nor are they willing to provide any more information, so they're not much use. What is of use is that there is a building controls summary on the council website, which states the work was authorised and started but not completed. We won't ever know what this means as the records are so historical dating back 30 years that they maybe just incomplete.
I've had two separate legal advice - the solicitor I'm working with says there's no statute of limitations for this sort of issue when its a breach of the lease, while another litigation advisor says that this is a council enforcement issue and the government guidelines state that a complaint about a substantial breach has to be within ten years. Even if that ten years meant from the time I owned the flat, it would have expired as I bought it 13 years ago.
It's a complicated situation, where I'm due to go to a tribunal next month, spending a fortune on legal fees, my solicitor wants me to also hire a barrister for the issue of the amended plan and is quoting a figure upto Ł4k. Help!
I’ve found the previous owner who made the alterations back in 1991. They’re adamant they sought the permission of the freeholder and the council. However the previous owners do not want to get involved in the tribunal case nor are they willing to provide any more information, so they're not much use. What is of use is that there is a building controls summary on the council website, which states the work was authorised and started but not completed. We won't ever know what this means as the records are so historical dating back 30 years that they maybe just incomplete.
I've had two separate legal advice - the solicitor I'm working with says there's no statute of limitations for this sort of issue when its a breach of the lease, while another litigation advisor says that this is a council enforcement issue and the government guidelines state that a complaint about a substantial breach has to be within ten years. Even if that ten years meant from the time I owned the flat, it would have expired as I bought it 13 years ago.
It's a complicated situation, where I'm due to go to a tribunal next month, spending a fortune on legal fees, my solicitor wants me to also hire a barrister for the issue of the amended plan and is quoting a figure upto Ł4k. Help!
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