UK Landlord Forum / Life

A flat above mine was sold and has become a five bed HMO with a licence. It has a shared freehold. There is just my flat and the HMO above. Was it legal for the new
owner to make it an HMO without consulting me as the other lessee? It was sold as a two bed flat so I don't know where all the students are going to squeeze in.
I am not exactly happy about this situation.
Bernie in  E Sussex

It depends what's permitted under the leasehold agreement. When you say it's a shared freehold, do you mean that you and the upstairs leaseholder own it jointly?

Hello Mr Pambin,
Thankyou for your reply. The freehold is jointly shared between two flats in a converted house.
Bernie

Hi Bernie
It is very likely that the other property owner should have sought permission from you, but this will depend on exactly how the freehold is owned and what the terms of the lease are. I note that you are based in East Sussex - there are quite of a lot of new Local Authority licensing rules in place in the area and therefore they may also be in breach of these. I'm a Solicitor based in Brighton and would be happy to have a chat with you to work out what rights you have, and what you might be able to do to resolve this situation.

Laura

Laura Albon
Solicitor
Helix Law
01273 761990
la@helix-law.com

https://www.helix-law.com