terms of a headlease - what should I expect?

dboswell

Hi, I am in the process of buying a flat in a block of 12 new builds.

I have been told that I should ask for terms of the head lease.

What kind of information should I expect back?

Richard_Webster

There won't necessarily be a headlease. In most, but not all cases, the freehold is owned by the builder who has built the block.

If therefore the builder doesn't own the freehold or the lease of th flat isn't actually being granted by the builder but by management company set up by the builder, then there will be a headlease held by the builder or management company for a longer period than the leases of the individual flats. Sometimes there can be a hierarchy of several leases above the lease of the flat you are buying and your solcitors will need to look at all of them.

What is strange here is that if someone told OP he

should ask for terms of the head lease.

they must have had a reason for saying this!

That reason would probably make a difference to the kind of information that would be important. In general it will be about the extent to which the immediate landlord (OP's landlord and also headlessee) has duties concerning maintenance and insurance and related discretions. It could be that the headlandlord/headlessor - the person over the immediate landlord (or several stages above) controls some of those things through the terms of the headlease.