maisonette on a lease - can we have lodger

[charlottenina]

we are thinking of buying maisonette but it is a leasehold. can we have lodger? maybe it is not good idea to buy leasehold maisonette if we plan to have a lodger to help with mortgage payments?

Unless there are specific exclusions in the terms of your lease then there's no reason why you couldn't have a lodger. The 'Rent A Room' scheme is very good. Information

Most leases only have clauses about renting as a whole property, and even then that's usually just so that the freeholder can charge to provide permissions

I think almost all flats in London are leasehold (for example). It's most unlikely you'd be banned from taking a lodger. You could take another look at your lease if you're really worried, - but effectively you're an owner-occupier - the flat is yours until the end of the lease. The freeholder can't dictate the way you live your life!

The freeholder may not be able to dictate but my parents' home in the NW is leasehold and they have a list of conditions as long as your arm that they have to abide by, ranging from keeping livestock to having a commercial vehicle parked at the premises...

The freeholder can dictate all sorts of things, from whether you can have Sky to pets to whether you have to give them a proportion of what you spend on maintenance annually (for example).

When you buy a lease, you're buying the right to live within the property for Xno of years, depending on how long the lease is for. The fabric of the building still belongs to the freeholder.

is it better then to to buy maisonette - just in case it is tricky later on with the lodger?

Buy the maisonette but check the terms of the leasehold before you do. Your conveyancing solicitor can help you with it.