Getting a copy of a lease from Land Registry

IRememberItWell

I know this has been covered before but would appreciate clarification.

Before embarking on a long trek to view a flat, we need to see the lease. Of course, if we go ahead the lease will be examined by a solicitor. However, an initial glace should enable us to see whether there are any glaringly unacceptable conditions. The vendor does not have a copy; the managing agents were asked to obtain one and are saying they requested a copy from a solicitor. But this was over three weeks ago and nothing has happened. The vendor has been chasing both the managing agents and her solicitor but to no avail.

Just today, someone told me that we can get a copy from the Land Registry even though we are not the owners of the flat. I've looked on their website and this does appear to be so. If this is indeed the case, I'm fuming at the incompetence of the managing agents: how come they did not know about this service and did not go ahead and get a copy on behalf of their client (the vendor) who is paying a hefty sum in management charges?

But perhaps I'm misjudging them, and people who are not owners are not able to get copies of leases online … (?)

Thanks in advance for comments.
IRIW

kittensmith

Yes very very easy to get a copy,anyone can get a copy of any land related deed the LR hold.

Make sure you go direct to the Land Reg, rather than a third party who will rip you off and charge a massive handling fee.

I can't post a link due to being a new member , land reg site ends .gov.uk

IRememberItWell

Thanks very much for your prompt and helpful reply.
So I'll go to the site tomorrow and see how I get on.
From your experience, how long does it take to get the download? I've seen a note about "leases more recent than 2003". The flat is in a 1960s block so might this make things a little more difficult?
IRIW

kittensmith

If its held electronically it can be instant, if its an older lease it may not have been converted to electronic form so someone needs to retrieve the file and scan it in this takes around 3 days.

lewishardwick

https://www.gov.uk/search-property-information-land-registry

Is a good start. Pay your £3, access minutes later.

Was very handy for me when I was interested in a flat. Ended up discovering there were two loans secured on the property in addition to the mortgage. Could have been very messy!

davidmcn

IRememberItWell wrote: »

I'm fuming at the incompetence of the managing agents: how come they did not know about this service and did not go ahead and get a copy on behalf of their client (the vendor) who is paying a hefty sum in management charges?

To be fair, it's not really the job of managing agents to help leaseholders find copies of their own title deeds, and that isn't what their charges are for. The vendor either doesn't sound very motivated or perhaps is worried what your reaction will be when you see the lease.

da_rule

Unless you have a business account you'll have to apply for the lease itself using a paper form.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/official-copies-of-documents-registration-oc2

It costs £7 per document. You are better of obtaining the title register first to check that (a) the property is registered and (b) the Land Registry hold a copy of the lease (it should say 'copy filed' near the details of the lease)

IRememberItWell

Thanks again for all the advice.
In this case, the vendor is elderly and probably not able to use the internet. OK, getting title deeds is not what the managing agents are paid for but they could at least have passed on the information about the website and the fact that the information is in the public domain. I'm guessing that a relative would have sorted it out.
IRIW

IRememberItWell

I was typing at the same time. Excellent tips.
Thanks.
IRIW

G_M

Sorry - but poor advice above

1) not all leases are held at the Land Registry

2) to find out, you'll first need to download (£3 here) the 'leasehold title'.

3) read that. if the lease itself is held at the LR it should mention it and say 'copy filed' or similar.

4) if that is the case, you can apply for a paper copy by post (£7) using form OC2 here (unless you have a business account - are you a solicitor?)

Barclayloan_query

I recently applied for the lease on a few different properties from the Land Registry, as others have said you apply for the title register online (£3), which you get instantly as a pdf. Once you have that you fill in the form using the title number from the pdf to get the actual lease, costs £7 via cheque.

In my experience it took around a week for the lease to arrive each time.

Land Regsistry very helpfully posted this on my thread asking how to go about getting the lease...

Land_Registry wrote: »

The copy lease is only available by post as G_M posts. It's not referred to as filed though, on the actual register and not on the system, unless filed under a different title.

If we don't have a copy then there would be a note on the register confirming that providing someone has applied for a copy previously.

So you need to vie the register to get the details of the lease and then complete and submit a form OC2 with those and your details as per the link provided.

If the register states we don't have a copy then best to try the freeholder/landlord

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/72295245#Comment_72295245