Q for Land Registry Representative

LeifGR

We are selling our leasehold maisonette and the buyer's solicitors are insisting on a Deed of Variation for a number of perceived defects in the lease. If we go ahead with this, what is the typical turn-around time to get everything registered?

We are at risk of losing the property that we want to buy if we cannot get this done quickly.

I would very much appreciate some indication from the Land Registry Representative of what is involved and how long it takes - thanks!

Land_Registry

LeifGR - timescales can vary so it is important to understand what the perceived defects are.

If it is varying the term (say 99 changing to 999 years) or the extent (including an additional room say that was left out originally) then this would constitute a surrender of the original lease and a re grant. Such registrations currently take on average 55/60 working days.

If it is a variation of some of the clauses only and nothing to do with the extent or term then you are looking at a much shorter period of time, say 2/3 weeks

Either way if there is a linked transaction, such as an onward sale, then the solicitor lodging the application to vary the lease should contact us with details of that transaction and a request to expedite the registration. If we can we will and then it is all about the application being in order

LeifGR

Thanks very much for the quick reply! We are trying to iron out with the buyer's solicitors which defects really need addressing, but they are of the following kind:

-the lease refers to the "first floor" only, even though our flat is a duplex with a first and second floor (it was built like that, it is not a later alteration)
-the lease has a covenant that any alterations need to be approved by the landlord; the solicitors want this to be changed to cover only structural alterations
-the lease includes a garage some distance from the flat but access to this flat is over private land and the access is not explicitly included in the lease (when we bought the property we took out an indemnity insurance for this and I am trying to convince the buyer's solicitors that this is what they should also use)

eddddy

I guess you realise that the first challenge is getting the freeholder's agreement to the variations. The freeholder might expect payment (plus their legal fees), or they might flatly refuse to make some of the changes.

You need to be especially careful with this :

LeifGR wrote: »

T
-the lease includes a garage some distance from the flat but access to this flat is over private land and the access is not explicitly included in the lease (when we bought the property we took out an indemnity insurance for this and I am trying to convince the buyer's solicitors that this is what they should also use)

If you bring this to the landowner's attention, you might invalidate your indemnity insurance and make it impossible to get a new policy. (Is the landowner also your freeholder?)

And a 'less friendly' landowner/freeholder may see this as a cash generating opportunity, and charge you many thousands for a right of way - or perhaps refuse the right of way, because it might prevent future development of the land.

LeifGR

Update - we managed to convince the buyer's solicitors that some of their points were invalid and that the rest could be covered with indemnity policies. No thanks to our solicitors, I did all the drafting of the rebuttals...that's solicitors for you!