When considering a loft conversion in your flat or buying a flat with potential for a lost conversion, you need to find out who owns the loft space.
In April 2021, I bought a two-bedroom flat converted from an Edwardian style terraced house in Redbridge. When I viewed the property, the estate agent told me that the owners of the two flats bought the freehold a few years before so that they could take control of the building and do whatever they wanted to do, i.e. a rear or side return extension for the ground floor and a loft conversion for the first floor.
While both the ground floor and first floor flats were for sale at that time, I made an offer on the first floor flat. Actually, the ground floor flat had a nicer kitchen and bathroom as well as its own garden. However, the garden was so small that a rear or side return extension would not be feasible. As I was particularly looking to buy a property with potential, I decided to go for the first floor flat with a big loft space.
I was really happy when my offer was accepted. However, I nearly had a heart attack when I saw the lease that states:
The estate agent clearly said to me that the loft space belonged to the first floor floor. I felt cheated. My solicitor then sent me another document called the “Lease by reference to an existing lease” containing the Schedule below.
If I wanted to do a loft conversion, I would have to obtain planning permission and Building Regulations approval as well as the freeholder’s consent. This meant that the freeholder might say no to my loft conversion. I couldn’t take such a risk when buying a property with a large sum of money, so I had the seller’s solicitor amend the Schedule as below:
Going back to the question “who owns loft space in flats”, it all depends on what your lease says, so you should read the lease terms carefully and ask your solicitor or freeholder if there is anything unclear.