Can I sell my front garden to the upstairs neighbour?

[SunriseMoon]

We're putting our flat on the market (it's the ground floor flat in a terraced house that's been converted into 2 flats) the front garden and half the back garden belong to our property, the upstairs neighbour has asked if we'd be interested in selling the front garden to her - has anyone done this? I don't think it would impact the value of the property very much, as the way it's laid out the front garden could just as easily be part of either flat.

Can it be done quickly and easily or would it just be a huge amount of faff and expense for minimal gain while we're trying to sell?

I’d check with estate agents for value issues. Traditionally gardens belong to the lower flat unless there are reciprocal arrangements like with your back garden, so to go against the norm might cause issues when it comes to selling.

having said that to my non legally trained brain, there’s no reason you can’t and it just needs to be made clear on the selling particulars.

I would definitely check with an estate agent.

How is it laid out? Would their garden then be up against a window of the flat? That would have a detrimental effect on the value and appeal of the property - you only have to do a search on hear to see the issue people have with this set up I.e BBQs too close to the window, people making noise by bedroom windows when others are trying to sleep, loss of privacy.

*here … not hear

If your flat is mortgaged you will have to get the mortgage company’s permission as your mortgage amount is secured on the worth of the house /flat and land as a package . Then a lawyer would have to draw up the new contract . This is very important. The previous owner of our house was on the other side of the situation and bought extra land for the garden from the council . When we bought it the deeds came as two separate documents and it took longer as a consequence.I am no legal expert but also check the costs this would incur and if there are any capital gain tax implications.
The loss of garden could also effect the value and desirability of your flat more than you think . Lots of people want that outside space , particularly since Lockdown .
I wouldn’t , personally . They can always ask the new buyers .

Are they planning on turning it into a car parking space? That would be my concern.

I wouldn’t buy a ground floor flat where the u/s neighbour could potentially sit outside my window, plant tall plants that blocked my light, leave an old mattress and fridge mouldering for ages…

Future u/s neighbours might have no interest in maintaining it.

is it a big front garden? Or the typical terrace small space?

I would sell it as is and tell new owner they can sell front if they want

That would put me right off.

So they want the whole front garden and 50% of the back garden? I absolutely would not do this. It will significantly devalue your flat.

Upstairs neighbours can come to an agreement with the new owners.

It’ll devalue your flat.

I'd assume that they want the front garden for parking. Who ever owns downstairs might have cars parked right against their windows.

I'd leave it as it is for your sale. It's for your neighbours and the future owners to decide.

I'd go with this option.

Especially as poster upthread pointed out that the space will be outside the d/s neighbours window and the decision is there's what view they are willing to risk.

You may find it harder to sell your property without that space.

It would put me off buying your flat

The front garden would be a selling point of your flat plus it be odd if it belonged to the upstairs flat, so no I wouldn't sell it.

Thanks all - great point about the garden being right next to one of our windows - it is. I think we'll say no, but to ask the new owners, that makes more sense. Aiming for as little stress as possible with the sale!

I lived in a ground floor flat where the front garden was owned by the upstairs flat. They did not look after it it was overgrown and full of rubbish, so this was the view from my front window. They could also be funny if I needed access to clean my front windows etc. however, as PP said, it would probably have been even worse if they were using it all the time and making noise outside the window.

It will absolutely impact the price of the property. As a buyer it would put me right off.

Just a tip if you decide to go through with it
My neighbour asked if he could buy a portion of some outhouses of which I owned around three quarters and he owned a quarter. I spoke to an Estate agent who knew the house for many years and he commented that whatever value the sale would add to the buyers property should be halved to get to the price you sell for. In my case my neighbour buying some of my outhouse would add £40,000 to his property as he would have then been able to convert into a separate property so I suggested he paid me £20,000. He looked decidedly embarrassed and said he'd been going to offer me £1000!!!

Definitely don't do this as will make your flat much harder to sell.

just say no. I wouldn’t even mention it to the buyers. They might start to have misgivings about the purchase if they think the neighbours could be pushy or difficult.
Agree they probably want to use it a parking space which would massively impact your flat.

Oh I meant the neighbour can bring it up with the new owners, not us!

Thanks for all your answers, really helpful.

It’s quite a substantial amount of legal work to alter the leases to accommodate that and unlikely to net an amount for you that’s even close to the loss in value of your flat.