We own a flat in a converted property in which their are 4 flats. We used to live there but for various reasons have had to move elsewhere and couldn't sell the flat so we rent it out instead. The flat is the bane of our lives as, although we get on well with two of the other flat owners, the 4th owner is aggressive, rude, unpleasant and uncooperative and seems to really resent that we don't live there now. At every opportunity he makes comments about us seeing it only as a profit making, investment opportunity even though we have bent over backwards to treat it like we were still living there ourselves. As a result, relations are very strained and we try to have as little to do with him as possible and when we do we feel we have to be absolutely sure of what we are saying to avoid things rapidly escalating.
The freehold is owned by a company in which each of the flat owners is a shareholder and a director. Each flat is also subject to a lease so the flat owners all own an equal share of the freeholding company and are also leaseholders.
Three of the flat owners including us now live some distance from the property. We all previously lived there ourselves. The 4th who owns the garden flat lives there.
The garden flat also has a lease of a strip of land about 6 feet wide at the rear of the property, basically the patio just outside their patio doors.
Each of our main leases state we have "the right in common with all other persons entitled to the like right to use the area of the Lessor's Property which is laid out as gardens" and so I think we all just have an equal right ie the garden is shared with no divisions. The area of the shared garden is set out in the title deeds as is the area of land leased to the garden flat. The plans are to scale.
The owners of the garden flat have now in December built a large area of decking covering both their 6 feet strip and a further 6 feet into the shared garden. Before commencing the work they refused to let any of the other flat owners know what exactly they were planning but having seen the results this week the other 3 flat owners feel they have encroached on the shared garden. We have not yet specifically written to them about this as we wanted to get a surveyor to check the plans and take accurate measurements before we raise the issue (just to check we have miscalculated and because he is so incredibly prickly). The owners of the garden flat yesterday told us they have family issues and asked everyone to refrain from contacting them which we think may just be a delaying tactic because one of the other owners suggested we have a shareholders meeting this month, although he didn't specifically say we all want to discuss the garden.
My questions are what if any are our remedies if they have encroached on the shared garden? Is an extra 6 feet in these circumstances sufficient for us to have a case? Will we be prejudiced if, now that we have all seen the finished decking, we do not raise an objection now? Say we do as they ask and refrain from contacting them for a month or two (the family problem they are claiming could go on for some time), could they later say "well, all that time you were aware of what we had done and didn't say anything so we assumed you were all happy?" Does each of the individual leaseholders have a right to take action irrespective of what the others or the freeholding company decides?
Sorry about the length of this and all the questions but I've been worrying about this since yesterday morning and just need some general tactical advice at this stage to work out whether it is worth going to a solicitor.