My leaseholder wants to remove our dishes

[Harj]

Help!

I have recived a letter today from my management company stating that the installation of private satellite dishes is prohibited to the outside walls of the block according to the lease and therefore have to remove them immediately.

If we fail to do so, a contractor will remove them at a cost of £100.

This sucks, some of the dishes have been here for a few years, mine is not on the front of the property.

Can someone tell me what I can do about this? As thedish is mine and on my property can they just remove my property from my property??

If someone knows the laws regarding this I would be much appreciated. Thanks

 

[WSH]

Are you sure you own the external wall outside your flat? Mayebe reach a compromise by having a communal dish in the gardens or on the wall?

 

[gunizzle]

Cant you just say that it wasnt part of the leasehold agreement the removal of dishes.

If you consult a solicitor i think youll find as owner you have the say but there may be something in the leasehold contract that gives the lease holder power to alter external features.

worth taking legal advice i think mate

 

[Harj]

Cant you just say that it wasnt part of the leasehold agreement the removal of dishes.

If you consult a solicitor i think youll find as owner you have the say but there may be something in the leasehold contract that gives the lease holder power to alter external features.

worth taking legal advice i think mate

I think i'll have to mate, been scouring the web, my property is not in any outstanding beauty or conversation area, my dish is a mini dish, it falls into all government guidelines listed below, except planning permisson for leaseholdeers.

http://www.odpm.gov.uk/stellent/groups/odpm_planning/documents/page/odpm_plan_606331.hcsp

 

[breakdown]

I think you will find as a leaseholder you have to abide by the terms of the lease that you signed upto, and if there was no mention of satelite dishes in the lease you will have to abide by the freeholder's wishes. That being said, you may be able to work out a compromise with the freeholder (they normally just want some money). Failing that you will probably have to take down the dish.

I am sorry if this is not what you ant to hear, you may want to e-mail these people for some advice rather than pay for a solicitor in the first instance. They are trained solicitors who can offer free advice, although I dont think that they can represent you in any proceedings.

[email protected]

Hope this helps.

 

[Knyght_byte]

might be a daft suggestion, but im bored at work........get a Sky engineer to mount the dish on a piece of board....then get a window fitted thats big enough to open so this board can be placed in the frame when you want to watch telly.....heh...im sure they cant stop you having something sticking out the window!
(however persuading the Sky guy to go along with this may take some doing..lol)


on a more serious note, if there is nothing at all in your contracts concerning this then you may be able to fight it......especially if there is no particular instance such as being a natural beauty spot etc........or possibly even have a commercial dish stuck up on the roof (if its a flat roof) that can feed any of the flats......

 

[Harj]

I think you will find as a leaseholder you have to abide by the terms of the lease that you signed upto, and if there was no mention of satelite dishes in the lease you will have to abide by the freeholder's wishes. That being said, you may be able to work out a compromise with the freeholder (they normally just want some money). Failing that you will probably have to take down the dish.

I am sorry if this is not what you ant to hear, you may want to e-mail these people for some advice rather than pay for a solicitor in the first instance. They are trained solicitors who can offer free advice, although I dont think that they can represent you in any proceedings.

[email protected]

Hope this helps.

Thanks, have just emailed them.

 

[SamRadford]

Go to http://www.satcure.co.uk/secret/

Download the very last item in the list by right-clicking.

 

[Steve.J.Davies]

What does the lease say ?

 

[Boy Lex]

might be a daft suggestion, but im bored at work........get a Sky engineer to mount the dish on a piece of board....then get a window fitted thats big enough to open so this board can be placed in the frame when you want to watch telly.....heh...im sure they cant stop you having something sticking out the window!
(however persuading the Sky guy to go along with this may take some doing..lol)


on a more serious note, if there is nothing at all in your contracts concerning this then you may be able to fight it......especially if there is no particular instance such as being a natural beauty spot etc........or possibly even have a commercial dish stuck up on the roof (if its a flat roof) that can feed any of the flats......

Um... already been done...

http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=180381

 

[Boy Lex]

might be a daft suggestion, but im bored at work........get a Sky engineer to mount the dish on a piece of board....then get a window fitted thats big enough to open so this board can be placed in the frame when you want to watch telly.....heh...im sure they cant stop you having something sticking out the window!
(however persuading the Sky guy to go along with this may take some doing..lol)


on a more serious note, if there is nothing at all in your contracts concerning this then you may be able to fight it......especially if there is no particular instance such as being a natural beauty spot etc........or possibly even have a commercial dish stuck up on the roof (if its a flat roof) that can feed any of the flats......

Um... already been done...

http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=180381

 

[Harj]

What does the lease say ?

Just read the lease and it states no areials or satellite dishes to be erected though it does not state for what reason ie for architectrual or beauty.

However, after reading the link given by Sam Randford (cheers) specifically page 14 part (c), it seems to me that I have a fundamnetal right to have a dish, though it states in my lease I cannot, however , my minidish is not on the front of the block, virtually out of view, and is not obtrusive.

I may email the management company and ask them to come round again and discuss this.

 

[JohnW14]

Sorry to be negative, but I am a property lawyer (so some might say I'm paid to be negative and say 'you can't do that').

Firstly as WSH pointed out, you almost certainly do not own the outside wall to which you have attached the dish. The vast majority of leases say you will own only the internal face of the walls, with the main structure belonging to the freeholder.

Now it may be that the freehold is owned by a resident's association in which case you will own a share in it and you are more likely to get your way. However if the freehold is owned by an investor, there's no incentive for them to compromise.

The placing of dish on the freeholder's wall is technically a trespass and the freeholder can take action under the general law (never mind the terms of the lease) for the dish to be removed.

Secondly if the lease clearly states that no dishes may be erected, you have breached the terms of the lease and the freeholder is entitled to commence proceedings to forfeit the lease. These are usually done by way of service of a 's.146 notice' whcih will incurr costs, usually in excess of £100 even if you remove the dish following the notice.

Thirdly document referred to by SamRadford appears to be guidance issued by the European Commission aimed at governments when determining their town and country planning legislation rather than at individual citizens. Indeed in this case, planning permission is clearly not an issue.

It seems to me your only way forward is to negotiate with the managing agents for a communal dish to be erected, though that will take time due to the need to serve notices under Section 11 Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, and possibly to have a vote about whether other residents want a communal dish.

Disclaimer: the opinions stated in this post are my own personal opinions and are not to be relied upon without the user verifiying the comments stated herein. No responsibility will attach to the writer for any erroneous comments made.

 

[Geofbob]

I'm not sure why JohnW14 says that planning permission is clearly not an issue in your case. With blocks of flats planning permission is generally an issue if there are more than two dishes on the building, and especially in larger blocks (over 5 storeys). (For more info, see http://www.odpm.gov.uk/stellent/groups/odpm_planning/documents/page/odpm_plan_606331.hcsp ) It may be the planning issue which led to the prohibition being included in your lease, and which has now prompted the managing company's action.

 

[JohnW14]

Geoffbob - point taken. I was looking at it the other way around: until you get the consent of the managing agents in principle to put the dish up there's no point considering whether you would get or need planning permission