being sold my own balcony...

[krizzle]

my partner and i live in his flat which has a lovely sunny balcony - one of the main reasons that he bought the flat about 4 years ago. a few months ago, the garden flat below us was sold and the new owner immediately informed us that she in fact owns our balcony - and having checked her deeds and our deeds, she is correct. on legal advice, my partner is now suing his conveyancing solicitor, and part of this is to get them to cover the £8,000 (!) that the woman downstairs wants for us to buy the balcony.
however, our flat was marketed as a balcony flat - it is in the estate agent details - and i know that the vendor knew she didn't own the balcony, but lied to the estate agent and to my partner. is there any action that we can take against the estate agent and/or the vendor?
thanks for any advice...

That should be best left to the solicitor who got it wrong if they're having to pay the cost of remedying it.

If however the flat is over 12 years old your flat might have acquired the right to use the balcony by adverse possession. It's best to seek the advice of a solicitor.

thanks for the advice, collaborate. will look into adverse possession. much appreciated.

She can't use it anyway without access from your flat can she? How awful! Spit over the balcony on her plant pots!!!

surely that is just a ridiculous oversight on the original deeds?? Unless the garden flat has a right of access through your flat how on earth is she going to use the balcony??

and ime the EA will just deny all knowledge and responsibility! bastards

That's why solicitors have Professional Indemnity Insurance, they will pay. Adverse posession is not much help - the flat is unsaleable without an interest in the balcony based on title.

It sounds like a bit of a mess because normally this happens when the balcony forms part of the roof of the garden flat and is therefore retained by the freeholder (leases normally extend to the inside of the external walls and structural surface of the floor and ceiling).

How does stuff like this even happen? At what point over the years did the balcony become the property of a flat which doesn't even have access. I just don't understand...