How do Tyneside flats work?

Under a Tyneside flat scheme, each flat tenant is made the landlord of the other. By way of illustration, if there are two flats, on the grant of a lease of the ground floor flat to the ground floor flat tenant, the freehold for the upper floor flat is conveyed to the ground floor flat tenant.

How old are Tyneside flats?

The first Tyneside flats have been claimed as the Shipcote Estate in Gateshead, built by William Affleck in 1866. Most were built from the 1870s until the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, with some built post-1918, usually including a purpose-built bathroom and kitchen in the rear annexe.

What is Tyneside lease?

A Tyneside lease, also known as a crisscross or cross-over lease is an arrangement where the leaseholder of each flat is also the landlord of the other flat. Tyneside leases became common in the North East of England for workers near the River Tyne (Newcastle, Gateshead and Sunderland areas).

What is a South Tyneside lease?

South Tyneside Flats Lease Solicitors This type of arrangement still places the obligations for insurance, repair and maintenance on the respective owner and occupier of each flat. The key difference with this arrangement is that there are only two legal interests in the building.

Who is responsible for roof repairs in a Tyneside flat?

Each lease will contain the usual obligations as to repair, maintenance and insurance, with the top flat usually being responsible for repairs to the roof and the ground floor flat being responsible for repairs to the foundations but subject to a payment of half of the cost from the other flat owner.

What is freehold reversion?

If you own a leasehold flat or house there will be a freehold interest, known as a ‘freehold reversion’, out of which your lease was granted. Your lease will include a requirement to pay rent to the owner of the freehold reversion, although the rent may only be a small amount.

What is a cross over lease?

A crossover lease is when two people live in the same building, but have their own flat. Essentially, a building with two separate flats. Each homeowner has a lease to the flat they own AND the freehold to the other flat in the building. They are commonly used with maisonettes.

What is a crossover lease?

Who owns the roof of a block of flats?

The basic rule is that ownership of the roof, it’s space and the air space above should be expressly granted, as otherwise it remains with the Freehold. That said, if silent, it is also a question of fact as to what the common intention was between the original grantor and grantee.

Is a freeholder responsible for roof repairs?

The freeholder is usually responsible for: repairs to the building’s structure, including the roof and guttering, repairs to shared parts of the building, such as lifts and communal stairways, buildings insurance (to protect the entire building from accidents and disasters such as fire or flood).