Freeholder not responding

Kate_Salter_2

I’m currently trying to buy a flat, and simultaneously sell my existing home. The chain is in imminent danger of collapse because the flat freeholder has not responded to requests from my solicitor to produce a certificate of compliance, and apparently I cannot exchange and complete the purchase without this.
Can anyone offer any guidance please? Does the freeholder have a responsibility to respond in a timely manner?

Thanks!

anselld

Certificate of compliance for what?

xylophone

Certificate of compliance for what?

This seems relevant.

http://freeconveyancingadvice.co.uk/sale-purchase/buying-property

If there is a restriction on the title to the property in favour of the landlord or management company then a “certificate of compliance” may be required. The requirements for obtaining such a certificate will either be set out in the wording of the restriction or else it will refer to a particular clause in the lease which sets them out. The requirements will vary from lease to lease. You will generally be required to perform one or more of the steps detailed above but whatever the requirements you should ensure that they can be met upon completion as without a certificate of compliance it may not be possible to register the purchase. The landlord or Management Company (or their agents) will generally have their own form of words for the certificate and a fee will usually be charged for providing it. You should ensure that anyone offering to supply a certificate of compliance actually has the authority to give the consent according to the wording of the restriction. For example the restriction may say that consent must be given by “High Street Management Company or their legal representatives”, but the freehold may now be owned by “New Street Management Company”. If this is the case then you should ask the seller to contact the land registry with a view to varying the wording of the restriction. You should ensure that this is completed prior to exchange of contracts.If the restriction says that the certificate must be given by the management company or their conveyancers, but it is the managing agents that are offering to supply it, then you should insist that enquiries be raised of the management company directly or of their solicitors as the managing agents' certificate may not be acceptable to the land registry. There will generally be a fee payable in return for a certificate of compliance.

eddddy

Kate_Salter wrote: »

I’m currently trying to buy a flat, and simultaneously sell my existing home. The chain is in imminent danger of collapse because the flat freeholder has not responded to requests from my solicitor to produce a certificate of compliance, and apparently I cannot exchange and complete the purchase without this.
Can anyone offer any guidance please? Does the freeholder have a responsibility to respond in a timely manner?

You mean a certificate of compliance for the flat you're buying (as opposed to the property you're selling)?

If so, the seller should be chasing their freeholder over this.

The freeholder has legal obligations to the seller, but the freeholder has no legal obligations to you.

Essentially, you should be telling the seller to get their freeholder moving, or their flat sale will be in jeopardy.