Forum Topic

Leaseholds and freeholds

We are thinking of buying a leasehold flat, but no-one seems to know for sure who the freeholder is - neither the vendor nor the estate agents. The agents have tried searching on the Land Registry website to no avail. Can anyone recommend someone with expertise in locating such details at the Land Registry ?

Richard Greenhough ● 2100d16 Comments

Have you tried ringing Land Registry yourself? They're very helpful.

Viv Griffiths ● 2100d

Huge changes are ahead with regard to leasehold property purchase so you really need a good solicitor to advise you.

Micki Hawkes ● 2100d

I assume there is no managing agent as they would have to know.If no managing agent then who do they pay the ground rent to? If ground rent is not being collected then that can create unexpected issues. Take professional advice on that point.If it turns out to be a firm by the name of Freshwater then consider yourself  very unlucky.

Adrian Irving ● 2100d

Call the Leasehold Advisory Service.
https://www.lease-advice.org/

Tania Bapuji ● 2100d

Thanks all. The ground rent is a peppercorn, so in practical terms nothing is paid. Having gone to the Land Registry they look to have come up with the answer, so it  beats me why the estate agents couldn't find it.

Richard Greenhough ● 2100d

You'd expect whoever was selling you the flat to know who their freeholder was, and to tell you in their legal pack, as they'll need the freeholder to formally transfer the lease over to you. It's odd that you were left to find out who they were for yourself.  It's not the end of the world, though, if no freeholder can be traced, as there's a government department that steps in and handles things.

Peter Evans ● 2100d

I agree it would have been a lot easier if the seller had put together a legal pack. However, I didn't think it was actually a requirement for the freeholder to be involved in the sale of a lease, or even to be aware of it - unless the rules have changed in the past few years ? Certainly the estate agents didn't seem to think so. My concern is who to deal with to arrange an extension of the lease, and that certainly does involve the freeholder.

Richard Greenhough ● 2100d

FWIW I had a similar hassle - absentee freeholder - many years ago. The solicitor handling the purchase for me very quickly and very cheaply arranged insurance such that if the freeholder ever surfaced the insurance would cover the cost of regularising the situation.

Ken Munn ● 2100d

https://www.housingtoday.co.uk/news/housing-secretary-sets-out-far-reaching-leasehold-reforms/5109760.article

Philippa Bond ● 2100d

The freeholder should really be involved in proceedings from the start as they have to provide information about service charges and any major works planned, as well as assigning the lease to you as part of the sale. You'll certainly have dealings with them if you want to extend the lease, though you might have to wait a couple of years before you can apply, unless the vendor sets things in motion by lodging the formal notice and then hands the benefit of it over to you.  Solicitors to sort.

Peter Evans ● 2099d

I think the proposed leasehold reforms are only likely to apply to new build, in particular to address various issues associated with leasehold houses and retirement homes.

Peter Evans ● 2099d

Really important to have good relationship with the freeholder.  I lived in a flat in Duke Road and one in Whellock Road in Chiswick many years ago.  In the Duke Road flat we extended the lease to 999 years and in Whellock Road along with the flat above we bought a share of the freehold.  All went smoothly, not very expensive, and with good legal advice it makes for peace of mind when selling. You really don't need problems with the lease, especially when it comes to selling.

Claire Moran ● 2099d

In this instance there are no service charges, the ground rent is a peppercorn, and there are no major works planned. The building contains two flats, which it seems were originally on a Tyneside lease arrangement so that each leasehold flat owned the other's freehold, but somewhere along the way one of the freeholds became detached from the flat and was retained when the lease was sold. Neither of the current leaseholders was aware of who their freeholder was, and there is no indication for either flat that the freeholder had been involved in any way in the most recent sales, so it seems the leases were sold without the freeholder being required to assign the lease. As you say, the freeholder certainly needs to be involved in any extension of the lease, which is why I have been endeavouring to identify them before going ahead with the purchase.

Richard Greenhough ● 2099d

Interesting situation. Even if there's no service charge and no ground rent and 'no work planned', there must be some communal expenses at some point. So who's insuring the building at the moment? There are ways of dealing with an absentee leaseholder through a Tribunal which would give the two leaseholders, should they both want it, share of freehold and joint responsibility for looking after the building, as well as the freedom to extend their leases at no cost. Solicitors to sort!

Peter Evans ● 2098d

I gather the two flats each have their own buildings insurance. If I go ahead with the purchase I would seek to agree to cover it jointly in one policy.

Richard Greenhough ● 2098d

Richard, you probably know all this already, but others might find it interesting:https://www.anthonygold.co.uk/latest/blog/collective-enfranchisement-when-your-landlord-is-missing/

Peter Evans ● 2098d