Wording on a lease

Buster_pen

My mum has a leasehold house. Have got a copy of the lease and not sure whether it can be sold or not
It says 'not to assign underlet or part with the possession of the demised premises or any part thereof'
Also says'the tenant hereby acknowledges that the demised premises are subject to the legal charge and that halifax plc enjoys priority over this lease in respect of the demised premises
Does it mean that mum cannot sell the leasehold because she is not allowed to. Obviously the freeholder has a mortgage that must be paid so my understanding would be that no one wil buy the lease with this in place
Any ideas or help? Have a meeting with solicitor next week and want to have a bit of info before I go

anselld

It means she cannot sub let or create a sub-lease.
She will still be able to sell the lease to a new leaseholder.

G_M

'not to assign underlet or part with the possession of the demised premises or any part thereof'.
Is that all it says? Does it go on "without the consent....." or similar?

However either way, I believe this refers to subletting etc, not sale. A lease is by definition a saleable commodity so I do not see how a clause within could prohibit a sale.

'the tenant hereby acknowledges that the demised premises are subject to the legal charge and that halifax plc enjoys priority over this lease in respect of the demised premises."
Is the Charge on the lease, or freehold?
Does the Charge still exist? Have you checked the Land Registry titles?

Buster_pen

Thanks for that. Someone else have said that the legal charge might prevent it being sold. As long as the freeholder keeps paying the mortgsge the leaseholder could be okay. If they don't then the bank can seize the house

Buster_pen

The charge is mentioned on the leasehold. I am assuming that seeing as the leasehold mentions it the freeholder must have a mortgage. This was done 15 years ago so could have 5 or 10 years left on mortgage. I think that no one will want to buy the leasehold with that
In relation to the other details there is no mention of consent. This was done by another family member who mum gifted her house to but wanted protection

Land_Registry

Just some general information which may help explain things a little more but in essence it is legal advice you will require as to the impact of such clauses.

The clause you refer to is known as an 'alienation clause' - alienation is the act of disposing of, or transferring (selling for example), land to another. In the case of leasehold land, a tenant’s power of alienation is often restricted by the terms of the lease in this way.

Traditionally the lease often contains such limitations with words such as “…… not to assign, transfer, underlet or charge any part or parts (as opposed to the whole) of the Demised Premises ….”

As G_M mentions it is unusual to see a clause which prohibits the sale of the whole of the demise (property being leased) but it can happen.

If she intends to sell for example then the clause will come into play and presumably the landlord's consent will be required.

The reference to Halifax will presumably be from the security that the landlord had in place when the lease was granted. The key to any future dealing with the property though is likely to be whether the clause restricts her selling the whol of the Flat or simply part of it as mentioned.

G_M

Buster_pen wrote: »

The charge is mentioned on the leasehold. I am assuming that seeing as the leasehold mentions it the freeholder must have a mortgage. This was done 15 years ago so could have 5 or 10 years left on mortgage. I think that no one will want to buy the leasehold with that
In relation to the other details there is no mention of consent. This was done by another family member who mum gifted her house to but wanted protection

Why assume this. As you say, the Charge was 15 years ago. the freeholder may, or may not, have paid off the mortgage.

As I suggested earlier, CHECK THE FREEHOLD TITLE to see if the Charge is still there.

You are also wrong to confuse a Charge on the freehold with the ability to sell the lease. A Charge on the freehold only becomes relevant if the freehold is to be sold.

Similarly, if you mum has a mortage (Charge) on her leasehold Title, that would need to be paid off before or when she sells her lease.

Again, looking at the leasehold Title would show any current Charge on the lease.

The Titles (of both freehold & leasehold) can be downloaded for £3 here.

You have still not answered my earlier question:

Is that all it says? Does it go on .....

Buster_pen

Again all it says it not to assign underlet or part with possession of the demised premises or part thereof
In relation to the mortgage this is mentioned in the freehold and still has 10 years to run. Two different people own the freehold and leasehold.

G_M

Buster_pen wrote: »

In relation to the mortgage this is mentioned in the freehold and still has 10 years to run. Two different people own the freehold and leasehold.

1) Impossible to tell - The Land Reg Title Charges Regisyer does not provide information about when a Charge will be removed. Indeed it could not. The borrower might decide to pay off the mortgage at any time. So I can only assume you are not looking at the Title but some other document.
2) It is normal for different people to own the Freehold and Leasehold Titles.

Buster_pen

Many thanks for your help. Still confused but have a bit more knowledge before I go and see solicitor. As I understand it now the lease needs to be looked at as to whether it can be sold or not. That is the key. This was set up between family members so that makes it awkward. The family member with the freehold is hoping that it cant be sold as she will lose everything. This was done and advised by solicitors I guess it will boil down to what value the lease has. It will expire on mums death so don't know what will happen

G_M

Buster_pen wrote: »

Many thanks for your help. Still confused but have a bit more knowledge before I go and see solicitor. As I understand it now the lease needs to be looked at as to whether it can be sold or not. That is the key. This was set up between family members so that makes it awkward. The family member with the freehold is hoping that it cant be sold as she will lose everything. This was done and advised by solicitors I guess it will boil down to what value the lease has. It will expire on mums death so don't know what will happen

I woul have been helpful (and saved us a lot of wasted time) if you had provided a complete picture in your first post.