Acquiring our communal ‘shed’.

4 years ago

last modified: 4 years ago

We own the lower and upper ground floors of a good sized Victorian house in inner city London which has a storage space (‘shed’) at lower ground (basement) level, underneath the outside steps of the building.

Although a little damp, it‘s ideal for bikes and some other items, at approximately 1.50 x 3.50 metres (not quite standing height). It also houses the water mains connection for all three flats.

There is a one metre square hallway like area connected to it, housing the three electricity meters, which has a door leading to our flat (not our main front door) and a metal gate leading outside.

I would like this whole area to become part of our flat, with sole use of it.

Bit of a long shot, but has anybody here dealt with a similar situation?

I’m sure there will be legal and other hurdles to overcome but I feel that would be worth it.

One of the two other (shared) freeholders has said he’d be willing to entertain this idea the other one is not so keen (yet).

Any advice welcome and appreciated!

Let me know if you need more info, I guess it may be hard to envisage the space(?)

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Comments (5)

Jonathan
4 years ago
Even if you enclose it your neighbours will have right of access to the meters.
You could move the meters but the cost implication is high- it might however be worth it if you increase your square footage in an expensive postcode but I would bet that unless you fully use the space it won’t add enough value to justify the high cost. Could you make it into another bathroom or study to increase the value of the space?
E D thanked Jonathan
Patrina
4 years ago
E D I agree with Jonathan. The juice may not be worth the squeeze in this instance.
E D thanked Patrina
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E D
Original Author
4 years ago
Thanks guys.

Jonathan, because there is no standing height I don't think having a bathroom or other 'liveable' room is feasible nor economical.

I think you're probably right, it may not add enormously to the value of the property, although somewhere to store the bikes securely is a fairly desirable prospect in London. We have this already but I was hoping (unrealistically, probably ) to create more privacy and self determination (Shexit haha) by having the sole use.

Any suggestions where to start to look for an idea of cost of moving the meters?
AMB
4 years ago
You need to contact your energy supplier (British Gas, EDF, etc.) or local energy distributor (the people who actually supply the energy to the area) to move meters. I have found that individual tradespeople are not keen on moving meters, especially if they are for gas.
Sonia
4 years ago
We asked a few years ago about moving our electricity meter to outside. The cost would have been about £1000 then. However, if your utilities are doing others in your area, they may do it for free. We had our gas meter put outside the front for free as British Gas offered to move it as they were in the area. They had put a leaflet through our door. Certainly worth a call.

Acquiring our communal ‘shed’.

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Acquiring our communal ‘shed’.

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