Your Section offer notice and transfer documents will show whether your property was sold on a freehold or leasehold basis. As a freeholder, you have purchased the property in its entirety and this includes the accompanying garden and any land surrounding the property. The full extent of the land included will be detailed in the layout plan agreed prior to sale. Freeholders are not normally asked to pay service charges unless the council intends to carry out works to areas around your property that you will benefit from.
There are only a very small number of houses that the council would consider transferring on a leasehold basis. When a council house is sold 'freehold' there will be covenants, or restrictions, included within the legal transfer document that cover what can and cannot be done with the property. These covenants are generally designed to protect against inappropriate alterations to the property and gardens, or any other changes that would affect the overall appearance or management of the neighbourhood.
The transfer document is sent to your legal representatives before the sale is completed and by completing your purchase you are accepting these conditions. It is your sole responsibility to ensure that you do not cause a breach of any of the covenants.
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If your property is leasehold, you can buy the freehold from the freeholder along with other leaseholders — for example, other people living in a block of flats. It also means you can extend your lease fairly easily for up to years.
To buy the freehold, you and the other leaseholders will have to serve a Section 13 Notice on the freeholder. It might be expensive to buy the freehold. You and the other leaseholders will also need to set up a company to manage the building, or find a managing agent to do it for you.
Commonhold is an alternative to long-term leasehold. Owners of the properties that share a lease can form a commonhold association, which owns the land, building and common areas and is responsible for the management, maintenance, repair and servicing of them.
Like a leasehold, owners are responsible for their individual flats or houses. But, unlike leaseholds, there is no time limit for how long you can own the property. Anyone who owns a freehold in the building or estate is entitled to participate in the running of the commonhold association.
With a leasehold, you own the property subject to the terms of the leasehold for the length of your lease agreement with the freeholder. Some houses are sold as leaseholds. If this is the case, you own the property, but not the land it sits on. When buying a leasehold property, it is important to consider the length of the remaining term of the lease. As time goes by the value of the property is affected by the diminishing term of the lease which could make the property more difficult to sell.
Typically it is a good idea that the lease has at least 80 years remaining or you might struggle to get a mortgage. This means the freeholder is, normally, responsible for the maintenance and repair of the building.
You might also be asked to pay into a sinking fund, to help cover any unexpected maintenance work needed in the future. The service charge on many properties will come with terms and conditions about how much they could rise by in the contract. If you own a leasehold property, the repairs and maintenance on your property are your responsibility. These usually apply to flats with common parts or to properties in residential areas which have communal gardens or grounds. As a leaseholder you have rights preventing the landlord from taking advantage of you financially.
The Right to Manage — this lets leaseholders take over some management tasks from the landlord without having to prove bad management. Apply to appoint a new manager — but you must prove bad management unfair costs, breach of agreements.
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Tool Money Navigator. Money Manager. Banking How to choose, use and manage bank accounts. Budgeting How to budget, find the best deals and switch to save money. Buying and running a car How to buy and finance a car, deal with problems with car finance, and cut running costs. Is this right? Will be changed after the completion? I am really confused. There is a flat which has 90yr freehold is that a good investment it doesnt seem to have a freehold association as there are no fees to be paid annually.
I am a first time buyer and have viewed a flat I love but its full freehold and a 90 year lease, this has thrown me as I thought it could only be one or the other? If I went for it I would own the freehold to the upstairs flat too- this has recently been bought and apparently needs alot of work doing as its rundown.
Would this effect me as the freeholder? I would stay in this flat maybe 3 years? Just a bit worried of any complications? Hi, I wondered if I can obtain some advice. I am in the process of buying a freehold house in a small retirement village. The land owner has retained ownership of the common areas and operates a company to do this work. There are already approximately 40 units well built and occupied.
However, there is no reference in the TP1 of any element of reasonableness of the ESMC and although it details how these charges would originate, there is no remedy provided should these be unreasonable. The TP1 also refers to annual accounts but to my knowledge these have either not been done or not been sent to the freeholders.
I understand the landowner owner of the communal areas retains ownership of the remaining land on which the as yet unfinished but commenced protecting the planning permission properties are to be built. Sorry to be so long winded but: 1.
Can the landowner be required to transfer the ownership to the Freeholders before completion of the build? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Christine Powell I. I own a flat in a block of three which is lease hold however between the three flats we own the freehold for the property through our holding company of which each of the flat owners is a director.
If we own the freehold for the property between the the three flats is renewing the lease hold on each flat an unnecessary expense. Hi, I am looking for a Freehold property for letting. On the web, a property stated the tenure is Freehold. The vendor has started the procedure of changing the tenure with the developer, Persimmon. The vendor has a new tenant from Nov 20 and said I would receive rent monthly.
Is it safe to purchase the property in the above situation? I want to buy a Freehold property for letting or selling later on. Looking forward to receiving your valuable advice.
I live in a freehold house, the freehold extends only to the walls of the house. All outdoor areas are leasehold including the road, parking and back and front gardens. When we purchased the house we were told that the gardens were to be maintained by the service charge company. The back garden in particular is the area causing us issues.
The garden is fully enclosed and attached the back of our properties. Only the four leaseholders and the maintenance guys have access to it. We have been here for a almost a year and half now and we have had so many problems with the garden and despite our constant complaints to Barratts nothing has been done to fix these issues.
Although these problems are annoying, they are not very serious. What concerns me the most is the fact that the ground was never leveled or evened out when the turf was laid which has resulted in craters in the earth underneath the grass. There have been several occasions where I have caught my foot in one of the craters or ditches and ended up on the floor. We have made several complaints and requests for the garden to be sorted out but so far nothing has been done.
All four leaseholders have expressed that they are unhappy with the service we have been provided and we feel that we have been taken advantage of by a large company. We feel helpless to do anything and are unsure on what we can do. As Barratts are in breach of their contract do we have grounds to take them to court or start legal proceedings? Where would we begin and how would we go about this?
Are you able to give us any pointers please or reccommend a legal representative? Due to the unusual set up of freehold house but leasehold garden we are struggling to find any concrete guidance online.
What if the property is freehold and the land is leasehold? Worried this could be problematic in the future? Hello I have a couple of questions. We live in a flat that was divided into two flats. The property has a shared driveway. We are all both leaseholders and freeholders.
The people living upstairs have sold. Do i need to sign a new contract between us and new owner. The house once belonged to the people that lived next door but they sold this part of the house. Meaning they had to give part of their garden to the new owners along with a garage.
Up until 5 years ago the old lady owned a garage on our property. She sold it exchange for roof repair work to the owner upstairs who in turned sold it to a person living up the road. Yes unfair as they never asked if we wanted it. So my question is when the old lady owned the garage she had right of way over the driveway to the garage.
When she sold the garage i believe she lost all right to drive up or walk up the drive way. The old lady has since died and her niece and her husband were left the house. The niece has taken to drive up our driveway and use the drive to empty shopping etc i told them you have no right now to come onto our land. He is insistent he has every right. He got an old contract out but when i pointed out that we have a new contract that was made when we bought the flat to extended the year lease.
He has a copy of this contract as we gave him one to read, Although he has to access his garden gate by the drive way that is acceptable does he have the right to drive up our driveway and park. Hope this makes sense. Thank you. Who is responsible for the maintenance of the perimeter fences if say, they are damaged by strong winds, as they run along the rest of properties on a block?
We are a group of 6 self contained flats on a long term leasehold. One of the flats has gone up for sale and is being bought to rent which is against what the rest of the occupants desire. Has the freeholder any right to stop the BTR purchase.
Dear Tony — This would depend on what was in the lease agreement. Some stipulate that they cannot be rented out. My daughter bought a house that was originally purchased on a shared basis. However the previous owner had purchased the property and it was registered as a Freehold in their name.
My daughter therefore bought a Freehold property. She is now in the process of selling her house but is having problems concerning the Company who manage areas of the estate — the lender to the proposed buyer will not accept some of the terms in their contract.
Can the Management Company have clauses that would prevent a sale. M We feel she will do this often and my daughte rfeels harrassed. The freeholder is spoiling her enjoyment of the property by frequently emailing her. Lately my daughter had to soundproof a bedroom floor before recarpeting. The freeholder is demanding to inspect what is going on and is generally behaving as if my daughter is renting the flat and is behaving illegally, Does the freeholder have the right to peremptorily demand to be let in?
Hi, my house is leasehold with my local council with 57 years remaining. I realise the property is reducing in value but I cannot afford the fees the council have quoted for a freehold conversion. How can I find out the true value of my property as it currently stands as local estate agents could only give me a true market value if it was freehold.
Dear Claire — Initially it might be worth contacting Bonallack and Bishop for some free initial advice on extending the leasehold or buying the freehold and what likely costs should be. One is for the leasehold which is Title Absolute and the other is for the freehold of the same property again title absolute.
I believe a previous owner purchased freehold. My question is can I own both the Freehold and leasehold? Dear Ernie — If the property is question is the exact same premises ie the leasehold is of the whole building, not just a flat within the building and you are registered owner of both the freehold and leasehold, it sounds like the lease has become irrelevant and could be merged with the freehold.
You would need to instruct a property lawyer to document this and make the necessary registrations at the Land Registry. Best of luck! Hi, I own an apartment which has a leasehold that now has a year left. Having read your guidance I am concerned about the value of the property and the lease reduces. What are my options if I want to keep the property or sell it? Hello, have a read of our guide to extending your lease and if you need more tailored advice, please do consider becoming a member.
I own my house my daughter is buying the upstairs and having an extension done. I i own the house why does she have to have lease hold rather than buying freehold? New build Freehold houses now contain clauses that require permission to make changes to the property. How can these be Freehold, now known as Toxic Fleecehold homes. I was offered less than the market value or I had to move out and the freeholder would pay my rent for over two years. No arbitration or mediation. Just a summons for Vacant possession with no mention of payment.
The time is nearly up. Can I still have arbitration to get Proff of the need for all the works. A ruse for evicting the tenants to sell their vacant flats. Who owns my flat? I am a freeholder on a fairly new development where the majority of the properties which are all terraced houses are leasehold. Kind Regards, John. Hi John. In the meantime anyone in the process of purchasing a property will be interested to note that we endorsed the recent Freehold Management Enquires conveyancing form FME1 form.
Many conveyancers might not yet know about these standard enquiries. Hello Anna, it seems like that would be a sensible assumption however you could speak to the current freeholder to establish the facts before moving forward. It sounds like the leasehold would have merged with the freehold in but do speak to your conveyancer to confirm this. Someone who owns a share of freehold is still a leaseholder and must get the permission of the " freeholder " before making any substantial or structural changes to their property.
This means agreement from all those in the building who have a percentage stake in the freehold company. As such staying friendly with your neighbours is far more important in a share of freehold situation than if you are a leaseholder!
Once again any agreed changes must be spelt out either in a new lease or in a deed of The Lease Leasehold and Share of Freehold Only - This comes from the vendor's solicitor and defines what the freeholder expects from you as a leaseholder.
Rent Receipts Leasehold Only - the ground rent is a charge made by the freeholder. Again the last three years receipts will be sought by your solicitor in order to make sure the premiums are not excessive or rising sharply. Any debts that the vendor may have with the freeholder are identified here and are also extremely important. As with the service charge, ground rent debts are also based on the property. If you buy when there are outstanding debts they will become your It is a document from the managing agents or freeholder saying they accept you as the new leaseholder.
There are some blocks, however, where you will have to provide character references, proof of your financial status and sometimes even attend for an interview. They are rare and, more often than not, in the upmarket apartments of Mayfair and As such they will issue a deed of variation to the lease to confirm that something in the lease is not true or to make an addition to the Leasehold only: The vendor owes the freeholder money but is refusing to pay it because he is in dispute with them.
Leasehold only: The freeholder is absent has gone missing and no one knows where they Leasehold only: The freeholder is absent has gone missing and no one knows where they are! Your solicitor may be concerned that he will reappear and want to claim the outstanding debt from you.
Leasehold only: Your Leasehold only: Your solicitor does not think a deed of variation is adequately worded and wants a new one drawn up. The freeholder is offended and refuses to do so - Requesting Further Enquiries - With so many pitfalls in With so many pitfalls in the documentation it is not surprising that your solicitor may want to ask further questions of the vendor, his managing agents or his freeholder.
Much of this comes from the fact that there are no definitive protocols for the forms and documents that pass between them. Approval where applicable : From the vendor or, if he does not have them, from the local council. Service Charge Accounts Leasehold only : From the managing agents or from the freeholder if he has Leasehold and Share of Freehold only : From the freeholder or freehold company.
Service Charge Accounts Leasehold only : From the managing agents or from the freeholder if he has not appointed managing agents. Ground Rent Receipts Leasehold only : From the freeholder.
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