Maisonette/Lease..anyone have any advice?

Feanor

Hi,

We have had our offer accepted on a ground floor maisonette in Surrey. Its between Chessington and Ewell in a really nice suburb. I am unsure if its ex LA or not, but i would say so. The lease is in excess of 900 years so thats fine..but having read lots of of previous threads on leases i feel a bit worried!

Obviously we dont get full details of the lease until we are passed paying for a survey etc.

Also, does anyone know..if there are 4 properties in the 'block'as such and we are interested in buying the freehold, do al the other people have to want to but it aswell?

Also in terms of decoration of the exterior and stuff like this, should all this be outlined clearly in the lease about what charges may be etc..I say this as the outside wooden panel already looks like it needs painting and dont want a bill for thousands as ive read about.

Any advice would be great. Thanks

cattie

I believe 2/3rds of buildings occupants have to want to buy the freehold in such a case. Those that want to buy the freehold then have to also stump up the money for the share/s of those that are not interested in buying.

Many leases in blocks won't state actual figures to do with maintenance & service charges. There will just be an outline of what your service charges are paid towards, ie, communal electricity, gardening etc, but unless they contribute towards some kind of sinking fund for repairs & essential maintenace, it's usual for each flat to receive a bill for their portion when such work is carried out.

You can get a good idea of likely charges by asking vendor about any works that have been carried out & they have had to pay towards over the past 3-5yrs. Or ask one of the other people in the block.

Have you checked this site out, it's a mine of info & help for most issues concerning leasehold property, including extending leases & buying the freehold. It's a goverment funded agency. http://www.lease-advice.org/newintro.htm

Incidentally, most local authorities issue leases of 125yrs, so sounds unlikely that the maisonette you are buying is ex LA.

Feanor

Thanks for the reply. Its such a complicated process isn't it !

I will try to find out as much as i can from the vendor, but as far as i know he was a landlord who rented it out..so not sure exactly what he will have had to pay for?

Thanks again for the advice. x

kingkano

Your solicitor will ask him for 3yrs bills for maintenance etc. along with other leasehold information. LLs are responsible for paying these not tenants so he should definitely have them. Failing that you can always pop round to the neighbours with a packet of biscuits and bend their ear for 10mins

Richard_Webster

There's a lot of sense in what Cattie says but you should also be aware that a lot of maisonettes have leases where each maisonette owner is responsible for maitaining his own part of the building and insuring it. There may or may not be an arrangement for contribution by the maisonette owner above or below towards the cost of major structural works carried out by the other maisonette owner. It is therefore often the case that all the landlord/freeholder does is collect the ground rent. He leaves the lessees to sort out maintenance issues between them.

There are lots of varieties of leasehold schemes so you can't really be sure until you see the lease. All I am saying is that in general the whole service charge/sinking fund business is much less common with maisonettes, but it does occur.

Whether it is ex-LA or not I agree under the 1980s Right to Buy scheme the leases had to be for 125 years @ £10 pa ground rent, but some Councils sold properties under earlier voluntary schemes and then there was some variety in the legal paperwork.

You can tell who originally granted the lease by looking ion the Land Registry website and getting a copy of the leasehold title for the property. this costs £3 - it will then give brief details of the lease and the names of the original lessor and lessee - if the lessor is something like Epsom & Ewell Borough Council - you have your answer.

As a conveyancing solicitor I believe the information given in the post to be useful but I accept no liability except to fee-paying clients.

Feanor

Hi,

Thankyou very much for all your replies, they are extremely helpful. I will try to make sure that our solicitor finds out as much as he can about the lease so we are fully informed!

Thankyou.