Wolfart Gunner Hauser v Howard de Walden Estates Ltd

Summary: Relativity between the freehold vacant possession value and the value of the extended lease of a flat which looked like a house was 99%, notwithstanding an argument that a freehold of a house was preferable, because the FHVP value was already reduced to take into account its flying freehold status.

Facts: The LVT determined the premium for the grant of a new lease of a flat under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 (“the Act”).The flat in question looked, superficially, like a house, but it did not qualify as such under the Leasehold Reform Act 1967 because the footprint of the basement was much smaller than of the floors above. There was a significant element of oversailing. The freehold title excluded the remainder of the land at basement level. Hence the freehold was a flying freehold.