We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.
This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING: Hello Forumites! In order to help keep the Forum a useful, safe and friendly place for our users, discussions around non-MoneySaving matters are not permitted per the Forum rules. While we understand that mentioning house prices may sometimes be relevant to a user's specific MoneySaving situation, we ask that you please avoid veering into broad, general debates about the market, the economy and politics, as these can unfortunately lead to abusive or hateful behaviour. Threads that are found to have derailed into wider discussions may be removed. Users who repeatedly disregard this may have their Forum account banned. Please also avoid posting personally identifiable information, including links to your own online property listing which may reveal your address. Thank you for your understanding.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
New build lease length less than stated - do I accept?

elise83_2
Posts: 23 Forumite
I received docs from my solicitor yesterday regarding my purchase of a new build leasehold property. The apartments were marketed as having a 125 year lease but now the actual lease document states the 125 year lease started in June last year. It may seem a small issue but I don't see how they can claim the lease starts in June last year when the apartment wasn't even completed at that stage. Surely the 125 years should run from the date of the original lease agreement with the landlord which would be now?
Just wanted to know if anyone knows of the legal issues behind this or whether this is standard practice? Thanks in advance.
Just wanted to know if anyone knows of the legal issues behind this or whether this is standard practice? Thanks in advance.
0
Comments
-
I don't think its a big issue.I'm a Forum Ambassador on the housing, mortgages & student money saving boards. I volunteer to help get your forum questions answered and keep the forum running smoothly. Forum Ambassadors are not moderators and don't read every post. If you spot an illegal or inappropriate post then please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com (it's not part of my role to deal with this). Any views are mine and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.com.0
-
125 years is not very long really! Don't some lenders get twitchy at 75 years... ok its 50 years away but might make it harder to sell in the future depending on how long you keep it for....
on a side note - if its advertised with 125 years... then really - you should get 125 years.... not 124 and 3 month's - also depends if there is any small print as well! You would be best speaking to your solicitor about this and see what they suggest!0 -
I wonder what else won't be as you expect. Leasehold house?0
-
Its an apartment, the lease was written when the legal work was done. There is little you can do to change it. If you insist on a lease extension (of a whole year?!) the legal costs of the work will be more than the value of the lease extension.I'm a Forum Ambassador on the housing, mortgages & student money saving boards. I volunteer to help get your forum questions answered and keep the forum running smoothly. Forum Ambassadors are not moderators and don't read every post. If you spot an illegal or inappropriate post then please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com (it's not part of my role to deal with this). Any views are mine and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.com.0
-
125 years is not very long really! Don't some lenders get twitchy at 75 years... ok its 50 years away but might make it harder to sell in the future depending on how long you keep it for....
on a side note - if its advertised with 125 years... then really - you should get 125 years.... not 124 and 3 month's - also depends if there is any small print as well! You would be best speaking to your solicitor about this and see what they suggest!
gibberish.
and all development leases start on the same date, so the first one sold was probably the start date for them all.
dont even bat an eye at this whole post. 100% irrelevant.
enjoy the new propertyMy posts are just my opinions and are not offered as legal advice - though I consider them darn fine opinions none the less.:cool2:
My bad spelling...well I rush type these opinions on my own time, so sorry, but they are free.:o0 -
Thanks timmyt for the reassurance - what you say makes sense. Even though it seems a relatively minor detail I didn't want to be ripped off in any way because of my inexperience. If it's a usual situation then that's fine.0
-
gibberish.
and all development leases start on the same date, so the first one sold was probably the start date for them all.
dont even bat an eye at this whole post. 100% irrelevant.
enjoy the new property
why is it irrelivent?! I had it drummed into me when i was looking for houses by various people that short leasehold is are potential trouble.. infact if you did a search on here there are many threads where new or existing owners of properties with short leases (75 years or less) start to experiance problems with getting mortgages!0 -
Quote:
Originally Posted by timmyt
gibberish.
and all development leases start on the same date, so the first one sold was probably the start date for them all.
dont even bat an eye at this whole post. 100% irrelevant.
enjoy the new property
why is it irrelivent?! I had it drummed into me when i was looking for houses by various people that short leasehold is are potential trouble.. infact if you did a search on here there are many threads where new or existing owners of properties with short leases (75 years or less) start to experiance problems with getting mortgages!
If you are going to own the place for 40 years or so then it could be an issue, otherwise not.
More relevant is the track record of the builder in selling the freeholds a few yaers down the track. Who do they normally sell to? Some builders sell to some very dodgy rip off property companies and you can then get caught when you are selling with some unreasonable fees of one kin d or another.RICHARD WEBSTER
As a retired conveyancing solicitor I believe the information given in the post to be useful assuming any properties concerned are in England/Wales but I accept no liability for it.0
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply

Categories
- All Categories
- 351.8K Banking & Borrowing
- 253.4K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 454K Spending & Discounts
- 244.7K Work, Benefits & Business
- 600.2K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 177.3K Life & Family
- 258.4K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16.2K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.6K Read-Only Boards