FTB - getting details of the lease

Jabberwk

Quick question (I hope). Most of the properties we're looking at are leasehold rather than freehold because we're in London and our budget mostly covers flats rather than houses. On this site I've seen mentions of getting details of a lease from the land registry for a few quid. Would this be a copy of the lease showing the rules and restrictions that the leaseholder has to abide by? Is this something I can obtain if I am not currently the leaseholder? How fast is this service (is it an online, instant access type thing, or a lengthly post thing?). I'm basically worries we're going to put in an offer for somewhere and then find out after we've already started forking out costs that it's no pets, or that we're not allowed to add a cat door, or that we can't change the kitchen or bathroom fittings and fixtures.

cattie

No, you can't see the lease via the Land Registry site. The only way you get to see a lease is when you instruct a solicitor & he requests it from vendor's solicitor. All you get to see on the Land Registry site is who the owner of the property is & the name of the mortgage lender.

You could ask the vendor about any restrictions in the lease when viewing the flat as they should have a copy of it.

Most flats will have at least a couple of restrictions in the lease. Often upper floors are required to have carpets, though many leaseholders ignore this with no comeback. You should be free to rip out bathrooms & kitchens to replace & to update the place, but if altering the structure in any way then you would normally have to seek permission before hand

Regarding pets, as I said, the best thing to do is ask the vendor if there are any restrictions or even check out any other flats that are in the block/development to see if anybody else has a cat flap.

I've recently downsized into a flat after years of living in houses, though I have owned flats previous to moving onto houses. Where I live there are very few restrictions, just the normal ones you'd expect regarding making noise after a certain time at night so as not to disturb the neighbours & being forbidden to dump large items such as furniture/appliances etc in or near the refuse cupboards. There are no restriction on pets here. A couple of us have cats & I think about 3 people have dogs on the development.

Lots of people who have never lived in leasehold property can be very negative about it, but due to having no experience of owning a leasehold flat, they really have no idea of what they are going on about.

As you say, in a big city like London, the majority of people do live in flats & if you are buying a flat, it has to be leasehold. The price of many flats, especially if reasonably close to the centre can increase in value at an incredible rate when the market is good, far better than a house in the suburbs will do.

AnnieO1234

Sorry but Cattie is wrong, iirc the fee is about £23 from LR but only if the document has been lodged with them which it may not have been.

Give LR a call and they will guide you in the right direction. The information is public as far as I'm aware.

Xx

Jabberwk

Thanks Annie, that's really helpful. We have no issue with reasonable clauses in a lease about, for instance, late night noise, but prohibitions against pets, or ridiculous restrictions on decorating or absolute bans on musical instruments (there's another thread on this board re this) would be deal-breakers for us and I'd rather find out earlier rather than later.

brenda10

Jabberwk wrote: »

Quick question (I hope). Most of the properties we're looking at are leasehold rather than freehold because we're in London and our budget mostly covers flats rather than houses. On this site I've seen mentions of getting details of a lease from the land registry for a few quid. Would this be a copy of the lease showing the rules and restrictions that the leaseholder has to abide by? Is this something I can obtain if I am not currently the leaseholder? How fast is this service (is it an online, instant access type thing, or a lengthly post thing?). I'm basically worries we're going to put in an offer for somewhere and then find out after we've already started forking out costs that it's no pets, or that we're not allowed to add a cat door, or that we can't change the kitchen or bathroom fittings and fixtures.

Read as much as you can about leaseholds and costs etc. Good luck

Conrad

Jabberwk many people are reporting they cannot find a property, that they are sold often prior to even being advertised, that there is a Dutch auction on each as buyers bid one another up.


I'm not sure with your meticulous time consuming approach how you will possibly get an offer in and accepted as most other buyers will just offer on sight, often without even seeing a place (I did this recently), let alone wanting up front sight of lease documents.


I understand your reasoning but I think it's a style of buying that is well out of date, speed is everything. Your lawyer checks the lease and provides a copy once you are buying - 99.99% of people accept this order of play.

Jenniefour

Conrad wrote: »

Jabberwk many people are reporting they cannot find a property, that they are sold often prior to even being advertised, that there is a Dutch auction on each as buyers bid one another up.


I'm not sure with your meticulous time consuming approach how you will possibly get an offer in and accepted as most other buyers will just offer on sight, often without even seeing a place (I did this recently), let alone wanting up front sight of lease documents.


I understand your reasoning but I think it's a style of buying that is well out of date, speed is everything. Your lawyer checks the lease and provides a copy once you are buying - 99.99% of people accept this order of play.

Agree - get an offer accepted first. And many of the restrictions you mentioned are normal so if you want no restrictions then you need to be looking for a freehold house. Most restrictions are to ensure that residents have "quiet enjoyment" and have not been made to deliberately put unnecessary limitations on how people live - just there to contain those few who couldn't give a damn about their neighbours.

Jabberwk

Sorry, I should have been clearer. I wasn't proposing holding off from making an offer until I'd seen the lease, I was just trying to find out how quickly and easily it is possible to see the lease, as, if an offer is accepted, I would like to find out about the more important aspects of the lease before I spend a lot of money on surveys etc, and if it's possible to pay £23 to the land registry and view the thing online, that isn't going to cause a delay, but it might save everyone a lot of hassle. We have a cat. I intend to always have cats. There is no point in me getting half way through the buying process only to discover that I have to pull out because the lease prohibits cats. I know many leases have restrictions on pet ownership, but I also know many do not as I have been renting flats for the last 12 years and various leaseholder landlords have allowed us to keep pets. I also have various leaseholder friends with cats. Believe me, I would much prefer to own a freehold property, but as I stated in my original post, this is not necessarily an option for us. I am not expecting to have no restrictions whatsoever, and I perfectly understand why restrictions are included in a lease, I am just trying to ensure I don't waste my own, and the vendor's time by getting half way through the buying process and then pulling out because of a no cats rule, or because I want to be able to put in a new bathroom suite and the lease says I can't.

Jenniefour

Maybe get solicitor to ask for lease right away so you and he/she can have a good look. Yes, lots of people have cats where agreement/lease says no pets. And if you're the cats owner then it's not scratching anyone else's furniture. Good luck!

ognum

Jabberwk wrote: »

Sorry, I should have been clearer. I wasn't proposing holding off from making an offer until I'd seen the lease, I was just trying to find out how quickly and easily it is possible to see the lease, as, if an offer is accepted, I would like to find out about the more important aspects of the lease before I spend a lot of money on surveys etc, and if it's possible to pay £23 to the land registry and view the thing online, that isn't going to cause a delay, but it might save everyone a lot of hassle. We have a cat. I intend to always have cats. There is no point in me getting half way through the buying process only to discover that I have to pull out because the lease prohibits cats. I know many leases have restrictions on pet ownership, but I also know many do not as I have been renting flats for the last 12 years and various leaseholder landlords have allowed us to keep pets. I also have various leaseholder friends with cats. Believe me, I would much prefer to own a freehold property, but as I stated in my original post, this is not necessarily an option for us. I am not expecting to have no restrictions whatsoever, and I perfectly understand why restrictions are included in a lease, I am just trying to ensure I don't waste my own, and the vendor's time by getting half way through the buying process and then pulling out because of a no cats rule, or because I want to be able to put in a new bathroom suite and the lease says I can't.

It is possible the vendor has a boy of the lease either electronically or physically. I have copies of the leases on my flats. A good vendor would let you review it if they have nothing to hide.

I have flats with no restriction on pets, music or other rubbish, I wouldn't buy a flat with those restrictions.

good luck!

Land_Registry

If we do have a copy of the lease you won’t be able to view it on line, you will have to apply to us by post for a copy. Instructionson how to do this are given on our website, please see – “How can I get copies of deeds and documents heldby Land Registry? “


At the moment, as Annie01234 says it costs £23 but from next Monday, when our fees are go down,it will only cost £7.