Airspace above flat roof of block of flats

[Rob8989]

Hi I wonder if anyone could help.

I own a flat on the top floor of a property containing 9 flats. 3 floors, 3 flats on each floor. I currently am renting out this flat.

I received a proposal for someone to build 2 more apartments on a 4th floor. The owners of each flat are also the owners of the freehold of the property, and have our own residents association.

The proposers are offering as follows:

£2000 for each flat owner

Adding a door entry system( currently have just doorbells)

The render and painting under windows will be repaired.

My own view would be that this would not be enough. Being an owner of a top floor flat I would argue that the disruption to my tenant would be far greater to those on the first 2 floors. And I would imagine that there would be quite an upheaval for my tenant during the proposed 6 month building works. I would argue that the top floor owners should be entitled to more money than the bottom 6 flats. But in a straight 1 flat 1 vote this might be difficult to overcome.

I also have the problem that my tenant may be leaving about half way through the building works. I would imagine it being quite difficult to find a tenant if such extreme building work is going on right above their heads! If I can't find a tenant for 3 months then a large percentage of the proposed £2k compensation is going to be lost anyway. I would be more inclined to vote yes if the money offered was say for example £5k

Next I would argue that instead of each flat splitting the maintenance costs of the property equally 11 ways, that the cost should be split into 25% for each floor leaving the original owners paying a third of the 25. % each whilst top floor owners would have to pay half of 25% each.

I've also read that the owners of the top floor flats should be responsible for the maintenance of the roof.

I'm pretty inexperienced with matters such as these and am basically seeking any advice I can find.

Are my list of demands reasonable?

Are there any other things that should be required for my permission to be granted?

What would happen if I say no and the other 8 owners say yes, would a majority win the vote or would they need everyone to vote yes?

Will it affect the value of my property going from the top floor of 3 stories, as opposed to the 3rd floor of 4?

I understand that the developers also need to be making money otherwise it's not worth their while. But I definately think an offer £2k is way short of what I should be expecting as an owner of a top floor property.

Any advice or opinions would be greatly appreciated and many thanks in advance.

Regards

Rob

[Melboy]

I wouldn't vote for this proposal.

You will lose your tenant almost certainly and you may have to pay your tenant compensation if they are forced out because of the building works or you may have to rehouse your tenant at your expense. Not possible? stranger things have been allowed in today's landlord/tenant world.

[Richlist]

This is a very complex issue. Some of the detail will be contained in your lease.

* I believe all leaseholders need to agree.

* New service charges are likely to be shared equally amongst 11 (including roof).

* Developers will need to ensure there are extra parking places, extra garden if there is any, extra dustbins & rubbish disposal is dealt with and consider any communal areas.

Other factors to consider are:

* Buildings insurance premiums will rise.

* External maintenance & decorating costs will increase.

* Extra work for freeholders.....dealing with 11 properies ilo 9.

* There may be legal costs with drawing up new leases etc.

On the positive side.....they have offered offered payment & some improvements to the building both of which are negotiable and are just their opening offer. I'm sure there could be more on the table including loss of rent and any other expenses that individuals face

I'd suggest you separate the two main issues:

1. The development in principle.....you either agree or disagree depending on the design/ details etc, but subject to :

2. Payment/ compensation individually negotiated with the developers.

Get some solid legal advice.

[Chestnut]

I agree with points from Mel and RL.

Check your property lease, and freehold deed. I have found these are more complex than expected.

Is your 'residents association' actually an owners association under Companies act with Articles of Association? If you're not sure, you need to check. Do you know who your company secretary/executive is?

Owners (members) of such companies would expect to have corporate voting powers to agree or refuse development. Owners would jointly own freehold.

(I am member of a company like this, where membership is condition of property ownership - and incidentally roof maintenance is shared equally).

Are the developers to be owners of their added dwellings? If so they might have to become members (by law) and abide by Articles, resolutions of members' meetings, etc.

Have developers applied for Planning Permission? If so, as a neighbour you should have received Public Notice from Local Authority giving you opportunity to comment and object.

[Rob8989]

Thank you all very much for your input, you have raised some questions that I need to find the answers of. I'm not opposed to the scheme in principle, I just suppose the details have to be right. I will investigate questions raised and let you know of my progress. Thank you once again for your time.

[Mortitia]

Apart from the leasehold issues as mentioned above the developer will need planning consent and to establish if the foundations can support such a structure.

Who is the 'someone' - is he a serious developer or just a 'Friday night' builder speculating after a few beers?

2K is no where near enough bunce to secure this deal and in my experience of managing blocks of flats I can guarantee that at least 1 leaseholder will vote against!