Missing Lease Page - House Sale

Chalen

Hi all,

I'm a leaseholder who was due to exchange this week on a sale and purchase, however an issue has come to light late in the day (week 12...) that looks likely to prevent this.

It appears a page is missing from the lease, it is not a blank page as the clause letters skip from n - v.
I am the only leaseholder in the house so there are no other leases to compare with (and possibly derive a page from).
The copy held by the land registry also has the page missing.
The solicitors used by the original leaseholder (in 2000) have merged with another firm and do not have a copy.
The management agency (run by the freeholder) does not have a complete copy.
The only chance of obtaining a complete copy is if the freeholders solicitors have a copy of the counterpoint lease - this is unlikely to bear fruit as there is no love lost between myself and the management agency/ freeholder!

The buyers are unwilling to accept indemnity insurance as an option and will not be swayed on that point.

On the assumption the sale and purchase falls through as a result, I would presume my only option is to have the lease re-drafted?

Would anyone have any ideas about cost and timescale for this?

Secondly, the solicitors I used to purchase the flat originally made no mention of the missing page in their written report to me. Is there any likelihood of them being liable for any losses I incur as a result? Surely this comes under the banner of duty of care??

Any advice appreciated! Thanks for reading my ramblings!

Richard_Webster

On the assumption the sale and purchase falls through as a result, I would presume my only option is to have the lease re-drafted?

Would anyone have any ideas about cost and timescale for this?

The only chance of obtaining a complete copy is if the freeholders solicitors have a copy of the counterpoint lease - this is unlikely to bear fruit as there is no love lost between myself and the management agency/ freeholder!

You will have to contact the freeholder/his solicitors to get the "lease redrafted" so you might as well ask them if they have a copy of the missing page because getting that from them will be much much cheaper than getting a new lease drawn up!

Chalen

Thanks Richard for the swift response.

I have contacted the freeholder but getting anything out of them is - to say the least - a challenge.

As you rightly say they will need to be party to any re-drafted lease (should it come to that) in any case and so will have to engage with me at some point.

Guess I'll just have to go on a renewed charm offensive in the hope it will bear fruit.

Thanks again

superbabe612

Could you consider buying the lease from the freeholder then transferring it to your buyer when it comes through (I believe it may take a few months)?

It should make your property more desirable and you solve the problem of the missing page.

Chalen

Thanks for the reply, strangely I got to thinking about this last night as a possibility. Not sure about the relative costs/ timescale compared to redrawing the lease but as you rightly say the outcome would certainly be preferable.

I shall be looking into this, thanks.

Richard_Webster

Could you consider buying the lease from the freeholder then transferring it to your buyer when it comes through (I believe it may take a few months)?

It should make your property more desirable and you solve the problem of the missing page.

First, OP already owns the lease so she can't "buy" it from the freeholder.

Possibly the poster means "buy the freehold".

Second,

I am the only leaseholder in the house

"Buy the freehold" could mean either:

1. buying the freehold of the whole building which would cost not only the value of the freeholder's right to receive the ground rent and to have the flat revert to him at the end of the lease but also the vacant possession value of the other non-leased flats, so that would be a substantial amount. Also there is no reason why the freeholder should agree to this.

2. buying the freehold of just this flat. This is a good thing to do if you have a few thousand pounds you want to throw away. It instantly makes the flat unmortgageable and reduces its value by around 30%. You then have to go cap in hand to the freeholder to sell it back to him and he will probably want you to pay him to do this!

Chalen

Thanks Richard,

Yes I assumed it was the freehold that was under discussion, but wasn't yet aware of the implications you mentioned. Suffice to say it's no longer an option I'll be pursuing!

Valuable advice, so thanks again.
:T

timmyt

if indemnity is not a solution what will the buyer accept, surely they are presenting you with a solution?

in any event, get your conveyancer (hope they are on the ball) to write a letter to the freeholder to ask them for a copy of their counterpart lease. Your lawyer will have to write to the freeholder anyway for manageent information anyway.

I assume the missing page are the tenant covenants?

yes, your previous lawyer may well be in the frame for your losses, but that won't help you get your sale through...though consulting them now would help you minimise your losses which you will need to do as part of alleging their negligence..

Chalen

Hi Timmyt,

Thanks for the reply.

The management agency also hold an incomplete copy, and neither they or the freeholder hold a copy of the counterpart lease. I did however manage to get the freeholders solicitors details and contacted them yesterday. They emailed me a draft copy of the lease (they don't have the final) with the missing covenants. My conveyancer is taking this to the buyers to see if it might be sufficient basis to proceed on (but I doubt it).

I gather the next stop after that would be to get the relevant clauses from the draft ratified by all parties and pursue whatever is required to make that the final version. No idea about timescales on this though.

Chalen

Surprising update is that we managed to exchange last week!

After some substantial dithering the buyers decided to proceed on the basis the draft lease contained sufficient assurance for them.

Can't quite believe it.

Very Happy!!!!!!!:):)

Thanks everyone for the advice - much appreciated.:T