I was asked to advise on the potential purchase of a ground floor flat that looked directly onto a very private lawned communal garden through floor to ceiling picture windows and with direct access via a recently constructed decked bridge. The other lessees gain access via the basement common parts and a rear door leading onto a lower terraced area with steps up to the garden. The garden is maintained by external contractors with the cost recovered in the service charge.
Even if in reality it may transpire that in practice no other lessee ever accesses the garden content instead with the aspect over it and beyond onto a Royal Park; it is nonetheless a shared communal space to which all the lessees have a right to and contribute to the cost of its maintenance.
Likewise the ground floor lessee is not able to alter the garden design to tailor it exactly as he would like it. If the lessee really wanted it, then landlord’s consent will be needed, a supplemental lease no doubt granted and Section 5 Notices being served.
It is important that the price paid for the flat reflects the current status quo.