indemnity policy ?????????

rabialiones

apologies again , just that i am stressed and confused.

seller says that they have never received a request to pay, neither is there any evidence of it being paid by owners prior to them

xylophone

What does your solicitor have to say about the matter?

Have you checked the Land Registry entry for yourself?

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/land-registry

G_M

rabialiones wrote: »

i think its when the policy is taken out,
That seems most likely, but don't 'think' - read the clause and check.
but, how can i pay ground rent when the there is no indication as to who to pay it to, as it has never been paid due to no requests being made
Have you checked the freehold title as advised to identify the freeholder?

so , if this is the case would it mean that the policy cannot be taken out, or would be invalid.
I doubt the insurer would stop you taking out, and paying for, the policy. Indeed, they are hardly likely to check the GR payments at that stage.

But if a caim were made, they might then look at the GR and invalidate the policy.
in which case would it be invalid for the just the ground rent or for the whole policy including the alterations
You did not previously mention that you were seeking t insure against a claim for the GR - you just mentioned the alterations.

Given the GR is £3 pa, and debts older that 7 years canno be made, you face a potential £21 GR demand. Hardly a concern.
or the seller could say it is upto date with payments and then pay the full amount outstanding if any requests are made

If the seller said it was uo to date, when it isn't - that would be fraud.

Once the seller has moved on, you are unlikely to see him pay any demand that is sent. It will be sent to you.

rabialiones

i suppose i could ask solicitor not to include the ground rent in the policy as it is a minimal amount and would pay as and when requested, so cover not really required for this.
would just be needed for the porch

westernpromise

Sounds like a restrictive covenant indemnity policy, whereby if it later turns out there is an undiscovered covenant affecting the property, your insurance will pay out in respect of whatever this costs. I paid for one of these once when I bought a flat in a converted church hall. The risk was that some covenant might turn up saying that the building could only be used as a church hall.

The wider issue is that you can't identify to whom the ground rent should be paid. While it might sound trivial, the freeholder's failure to respond to letters could be a problem should you ever wish to buy the freehold. If the freeholder wants to thwart your right to do so a good way would be to become incommunicado. What does your lawyer say?

xylophone

Your seller says that the lease is not to hand.

Have you yourself checked the details at the Land Registry?

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/land-registry