Watch out for Flying Freeholds!

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Commercial Property Article

21 September, 2017

Flying Freeholds often rear their heads at the most inopportune moments; they are most commonly discovered when purchasing a property or part of a property. This is obviously never a good time to discover any issues, let alone ones that can impact upon the use and viability of the property.

A Flying Freehold is freehold property which is built over land that does not form part of the property. This tends to cause issues where the Flying Freehold is owned by a different party to the property beneath.

Practically speaking the major issue with a Flying Freehold is ensuring that there is adequate access provision, especially in the context of carrying out repairs and simply gaining access to the building itself. Often there is no issue until either the Flying Freehold or the property beneath is sold to a separate party, creating a split in the freehold title and raising the issue of access for the Flying Freehold over the separate title to the property beneath.

It is very important to ensure that any issues concerning Flying Freeholds are identified and suitable provisions for access, repairs and also enforcement of covenants are put in place to ensure that the prospective purchaser does not end up with a property that is no longer fit for purpose or indeed accessible. Lenders are also very wary of Flying Freeholds and are often reluctant to proceed with transactions where a Flying Freehold is discovered.

Therefore instructing a solicitor with expertise in identifying and making provision for such issues is a prudent move.

Forbes Solicitors has a team of experienced commercial property specialists who can assist with all aspects of buying, selling and leasing commercial property.  For more information please contact the Commercial Property team on 0333 207 1130.

Learn more about our Commercial Property department here

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