Flats and Animals

[buffymad]

If you buy a flat which is in a "ready made" block of flats (ie rather than a house that's been converted), are there rules and regulations as to whether you can have pets there or not? I know with communal entrances etc you're generally not allowed with council housing but wondered if it was any different when buying a property? Any particulars I've looked at don't actually state one way or another!

[wolf63]

There could be - but it is something that should be made clear to you or something that your solicitor or estate agent will be able to find out.

[FredPuli43]

Most flats are on leases. There will be an express term in the lease of each saying that pets are not to be kept, or only certain types, or a given number etc. There are usually rules, contained in a document annexed to the lease, for the good governance of the block or building, where the more fussy details of what and what is not allowed are set out; such things as rules about bicycles in hallways and putting out bins are often to be found in these;and these rules are incorporated ito the lease by a clause saying so, thus making them part of the lease.
If the document is silent on,say, pets, there is no rule or clause and you are governed only by the general law relating to nuisance, public health, keeping wild animals such as lions (!) etc
With freeholds, it is still possible to have rules on the basis that they affect other freeholds.Developers often include them to maintain the standards of an estate. These require care in drafting because they are not always enforceable and are effectively meaningless.

[wolf63]

fred's dad - is there leasehold and freehold properties in Scotland? Not phrases I am really aware of.

[FredPuli43]

Yes, wolf they do, but are given to calling a freehold 'an absolute interest in land' (according to the Scots Law Dictionary). What a strange lot LOL. They had feudal rights and interests long after we did (by about 600 years). Scots law is definitely for Scots and Scots solicitors and counsel only; officially a Scottish solicitor is 'a writer to the signet but the term solicitor is generally used'. Some of it is a lot more sensible than ours, notably their conveyancing practice has none of the nonsense about gazumping and last minute changing of mind that ours has, but the English don't like to admit that.