Question 1

Island Garden

Accepted Answer

Q: A problem has arisen on our island development because one of the residents is querying paying for garden maintenance within his gated compound (shared between 15 units) instead of it being a charge to the Estate (which is the whole island). The Managing Agent is asking us residents how to proceed, but I wonder if we can ask your legal experts for advice before we are embroiled in a court case, as seems likely. I email you a specimen Lease (they are all the same for all 5 blocks on the island, or supposedly the same - there are variations in the duration of the leases between 99 and 125 years, which is hardly trivial) and correspondence on the matter thus far if you are able to take a look. FPRA Committee Member Yashmin Mistry replies: The lease sets out the following definitions:

“Building Common Parts” are “parts of the Building intended for use by some or all of the tenants and other occupants of the Building….and the Garden Areas and all other parts of the Building not specifically demised by this Lease or the leases of any other flats in the Building”

“Garden Areas” is defined as being “the private garden areas to be shared by the occupiers of the Building as the same are shown shaded green within the area of the Building on Plan No. 2”. The lease held by the office does not have plans within it. You would need to refer to Plan No 2 in your leases to see whether the area mentioned in your email below is the area referred to as “Garden Areas” in the lease

“Common Parts” is defined in the lease as being the “Estate Common Parts and the Building Common Parts together”.

The lease then requires the tenants to contribute a service charge for the management company to maintain the “Common Parts”. As mentioned above, we do not have a copy of the plans referred to in the lease and do not know where the garden area you refer to on your email is by refer to the lease plan, but we assume from the description of the lease that the areas you mention in your email below are indeed the “Garden Areas” as defined in the lease (see above). If our assumption is correct, then the tenants raising the query may well have a valid concern which needs to be addressed. We think the first thing to do is to review the lease plans in light of the above. [submitted April 2016]

Question 2

Island Garden

Accepted Answer

Q: A problem has arisen on our island development because one of the residents is querying paying for garden maintenance within his gated compound (shared between 15 units) instead of it being a charge to the Estate (which is the whole island). The Managing Agent is asking us residents how to proceed, but I wonder if we can ask your legal experts for advice before we are embroiled in a court case, as seems likely. I email you a specimen Lease (they are all the same for all 5 blocks on the island, or supposedly the same - there are variations in the duration of the leases between 99 and 125 years, which is hardly trivial) and correspondence on the matter thus far if you are able to take a look. FPRA Committee Member Yashmin Mistry replies: The lease sets out the following definitions:

“Building Common Parts” are “parts of the Building intended for use by some or all of the tenants and other occupants of the Building….and the Garden Areas and all other parts of the Building not specifically demised by this Lease or the leases of any other flats in the Building”

“Garden Areas” is defined as being “the private garden areas to be shared by the occupiers of the Building as the same are shown shaded green within the area of the Building on Plan No. 2”. The lease held by the office does not have plans within it. You would need to refer to Plan No 2 in your leases to see whether the area mentioned in your email below is the area referred to as “Garden Areas” in the lease

“Common Parts” is defined in the lease as being the “Estate Common Parts and the Building Common Parts together”.

The lease then requires the tenants to contribute a service charge for the management company to maintain the “Common Parts”. As mentioned above, we do not have a copy of the plans referred to in the lease and do not know where the garden area you refer to on your email is by refer to the lease plan, but we assume from the description of the lease that the areas you mention in your email below are indeed the “Garden Areas” as defined in the lease (see above). If our assumption is correct, then the tenants raising the query may well have a valid concern which needs to be addressed. We think the first thing to do is to review the lease plans in light of the above. [submitted April 2016]

Island Garden

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