Pregnant in a one bed flat?! Leasehold conservatory problems.

[lilybethjames]

Hi,

Sorry if this is in the wrong place - I literally joined about 5 minutes ago and have no idea what I'm doing.

I'm panicking a bit and just wanted to see if anyone has been through anything similar or can give me any advice. I am currently 14 weeks pregnant with my first and have just bought a 1 bed flat. I bought the flat in November 2018 and while this pregnancy wasn't planned we knew we wanted a child and figured if it happened while we were in the flat we would sell up and get somewhere bigger. We hadn't anticipated becoming pregnant about a week before the move!

Selling up and moving on is not an option as we would incur hefty penalties from the mortgage company and what's more I have already borrowed as much as I can (had to put down a large deposit to make it stretch to a 1 bed) and couldn't raise the money for a bigger flat. The flat is 100% in my name. My partner has awful credit thanks to a year out of work last year and a few dodged bills. Due to his age/the fact he's still on probation at his new job and poor credit rating, I very much doubt the bank would lend him anything at all even though he now earns good money.

The flat is a 1 bedroom ground floor flat with a large conservatory attached to the rear (so essentially 2 reception rooms) and a huge garden. I had the grand idea of putting a proper insulated roof on the conservatory so we could use it as a living room and then using our current living room as the baby's bedroom. A new roof is only £5,000 and it would add value to the flat, a no brainer.

I wanted to go by the book so asked the freeholder if it would be ok to change the conservatory roof. They replied 2 weeks later to say that the previous owners had never gotten permission to erect the conservatory in the first place. They said they will not give retrospective consent and we have to knock it down by 1st August (baby due 16th August!) and put it back into the state it was in before the conservatory was built.

Stupidly, when I bought the flat I was aware that the previous owners may not have gotten consent and was provided with an indemnity insurance policy to cover the cost of knocking it down/the difference in value of the flat without the conservatory. What I didn't know and this is entirely my fault for not reading the paperwork is that by going directly to the freeholder and informing them of the conservatory I have invalidated the insurance policy.

I am heartbroken I have to knock down my new living room, pay for it to be done, have lost value in the flat meaning I'm now probably in negative equity AND don't have a bedroom for my baby. This is supposed to be an exciting and happy time and I am in tears constantly with worry. I feel trapped in a flat that I no longer have any love for.

My partners idea is to just ignore the freeholder, stick a heater and dehumidifier in the room and still use it as a living room and see what happens. Worst comes to worst they realise we haven't knocked it down, we pay for it to be done and we can move the "living room" furniture back to where it originally was and share with the baby. This sounds sensible but I'm still tense and worried. I'm inclined to think we should just knock the thing down and start from scratch but I don't want to give up a room unnecessarily and it was my being 'by the book' that got us into this situation. Also I'm worried about the logistics sharing this small space with 2 adults humans, one baby one, a yappy dog and a boisterous kitten without the conservatory!

Can anyone help?

Thanks in advance

Congratulations on your pregnancy!

Do you have legal advice on your home insurance? I would check it before you go any further! It seems odd that your indemnity insurance is invalidated by asking about the conservatory, since that was the whole point of getting it?! Are you sure that is correct? Either way, tomorrow morning get some proper legal advice. There is plenty of time to sort the conservatory if you do need to.

And don't worry about having enough space as baby can be in with you for the first year or two anyway so there is no rush for that.

Afaik the insurance would only be invalid had you enquired before taking it out. Can you ask your conveyancing solicitor for advice? A conservatory is not the same as a room though, different regulations apply and your freeholder could object to you creating a second bedroom, even by dividing a room.

Babies don’t really need their own rooms until they’re about 3/4 and are playing independently. So you’re talking about 3.5 years. Could you plan to move around that point?

Failing that, What you could do is have an excellent quality sofa bed in the living room and when the time comes that baby needs it’s own room you and DP can move into the living room.

We lived in a 1 bed flat (large living room & bedroom, Tiny kitchen, small bathroom) with our DD till she was 5 months, its really not that bad as long as you don't buy a load of unnecessary rubbish for baby.

No advice on the indemnity, but our youngest was in our room until a year old as he fed through the night and I wouldn't have coped going between rooms all night! So baby having their own room isn't an issue for at least 18months, if not much longer tbh!

We have an indemnity policy to do with our house, and like yours - it would be invalidated if we mentioned the issue to the other party. I think it's a pretty standard condition I'm afraid, so doubt you'll be able to get around it. It's still worth calling them and talking to them though.

I know it’s ridiculous isn’t it?! Unfortunately think this is the case as it’s the solicitor who broke the news to me when I rang in a panic asking where I can find the indemnity policy number to make a claim. I will give her another ring. No legal cover but I don’t mind paying for a few hours advice. Thanks for your advice

Thanks for your help everyone - I think the plan is to get a quote for the conservatory but not act on it until the freeholder follows up... hoping they might forget! And will just have to make room for the little one and move in a few years when hopefully the equity on the flat has built up a little.

I would just leave it for now. Unless the freeholder actively follows up on it then how will they even know? Is there any specific reason why the freeholder is against the conservatory and can a compromise be made?

I think its worth making a complaint to the insurer and when they probably reject it take it to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Otherwise I'd just leave the Conservatory. It would cost the Freeholder money to take proceedings against you to get it taken down and it doesn't sound like they would have an incentive to do so.

I have a 5 month old and we are in a 1-bed. We are in the process of converting it but she won't be in her own room for a good few months yet - she isn't a great sleeper so to be honest, I probably wouldn't move her anyway.

Freeholder - read the terms of your lease. I know it'll be retrospective but some leases may say 'consent (for works) cannot be unreasonably withheld' so you could ask the freeholder for a reason the conservatory wouldn't have been permitted and potentially challenge it. I would recommend speaking to a property solicitor - not a conveyancer.

As for the indemnity, was it paid for by the previous owner? They could be arguing that the previous owner acted in bad faith in misleading the insurer i.e. taking out the policy in the knowledge they hadn't sought the correct permissions. If you paid for the indemnity, id be challenging the decision.

Oh if it's the solicitor that's told you you won't be covered, I'd take that with a pinch of salt unless they are suitably qualified to talk about the ins and outs of insurance coverage - speaking as an insurance solicitor. Read the policy and make a claim.

The freeholder is actually our local authority as it’s an ex council flat. They didn’t give a specific reason in writing but mentioned something over the phone about having access to the exterior walls and it’s not something they allow in any of their properties. I did show the lease to a few colleagues before I asked permission for the roof as I work in a property firm and they said it was pretty restrictive in terms of building on the exterior walls but I’m fairly sure it did have the whole “such consent not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed”. They didn’t see a reason why the council would say no. Will check the lease in the morning. I can definitely try and argue this but haven’t wanted to rock the boat and remind them of the situation. So far I’ve had one very friendly letter which was apologetic so I don’t want to be on their radar for as long as possible.

The solicitor had to point out exactly which line makes her think it won’t be covered and it does say they will not cover any loses arising from the insured or a authorised third party making the council aware of it. It’s not obvious but it’s definitely there.

So I think we’re going to deck the conservatory out with a heater, humidifier (since spending £5k on the roof is a bit of a stupid idea now), some nice furniture that can be moved to our current living room if needs be. Well get a quote for knocking down the conservatory, and should the council come knocking I’ll show them it and say I’m trying to get the money together to knock it down, use the new baby card if I have to! Try and fight them on knocking it down. Then we’ll try and make a claim on the insurance (maybe the council will be kind enough to send a letter that doesn’t have “thanks for letting us know about your conservatory” all over it, and failing that we just have to bite the bullet, pay for it to be knocked down and make do with space until we build up enough equity and hopefully DP can get his credit together/the flat price will rise and we can get somewhere bigger. It’s all doable it’s just probably the worst timing ever and I just want to be excited and thinking about nappies and nurseries but currently all I can do is be worried!

My friend lived in a one bed flat till her girls were 4 and 2. They shared the bedroom and her and husband slept on a bed in the living room.

I wouldn't all move out into the conservatory to be honest. It'll be much more comfortable and cost efficient to keep your living space as a living space. Use the conservatory as extra living space, great, but don't vacate your main living area. The baby is likely to be in with you until summer 2020 anyway, and then you can continue sleeping together, or you or the baby can sleeping in the living room. You only need a separate baby sleeping area and living room for a couple of hours in the evening. A Murphy bed is a really good solution that will give you a good quality bed in the living area, or the baby can sleep in the living area and you spend some of the evening in your bedroom. It's not ideal but you shivering out in the conservatory all evening while the baby is the only person in the main house just doesn't seem right.

Babies & toddlers don't always have to sleep in the same bed either. You can put them in one place for daytime naps and a different place at night. All children who go to nursery have this. We used it too for separating our 2 for naps, though they shared a bedroom at night.

I shared a bedroom with my dd till she was 2. It was totally fine, really quite nice. Most people around the world sleep with small children in their rooms rather than putting them in separate bedrooms. So don't worry that you might not have a special nursery. It's really not essential in the slightest

Even putting a roof on and using a heater and dehumidifier the conservatory wouldn't have worked as a ''proper'' living room anyway, it would still be too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter.

I have been in a similar situation and had to get rid of an extension that the freeholder hadn't given permission for. We sued the solicitors who did the conveyancing when we bought our property and they paid for the work and the loss of value. If you did not know that the conservatory was not supposed to be there, your conveyancers have been negligent.

I've got a massive conservatory. I put heating and air con in it as I wanted to use it as a room for my dogs.

I then stupidly didn't check what it was costing me in electric. I now pay £300 a month gas and electric to clear the huge amount it actually did cost! Be careful as they are so expensive to heat and keep cool.

second murphy beds - look up wall beds - some are incredible they can fold up during day & than transform into a settee - with storage for bedding & the more expensive versions have side cupboards www.wallbed.co.uk/ think Japanese housing

Op,
I have an 18 month old girl and we don't have a separate room for her and may not have it for a while. Little ones don't need a separate bedroom for early years. Their pram, rocking chair, bathtub etc do need space to store and we use conservatory for that. Regarding freeholder I would say don't do/say anything to them and there is high probability they won't come to break the conservatory.