Leasehold property - deed of variation

CheekySeagull

Hello everyone, I am new to the forum but have been a reader for quite a while.

I am now in a situation of great frustration and was hoping for some advice.

I am currently buying a flat. As a condition prior to the exchange of contracts, we requested a deed of variation on the leasehold, so that the leaseholder will not be able to double the ground rent, neither repossess the flat where payment have been missed. I am not going to miss payments, but it will make it easier to get a mortgage on it for a buyer when the time will come.

Our solicitor got all papers ready, in February. These have been signed from the current owner and the seller solicitor forwarded them to the Freeholders (or management company, they did not make clear who is now in possession of the papers). So the freeholder, or company, have had the deed for now several weeks and we had no updates. Our solicitor is trying to get in touch with them but, apparently, they have not been able to speak to anyone nor they seems to have a clue about how long it will take for the freeholders to approve and return the paperwork.

We have put an offer through last year, and event after event we managed to get to this point. But everything is dragging and we are well stressed, also because our solicitor kept saying “completion should be happening next week”. Since January. And we are denying ourselves holidays or any sort of plan as we are tied down.

So has anyone had similar experiences and is aware of how long this will take?
Is there anything I should request from our solicitor to proof they have not been negligent in to handling our case?
And if they acted negligently, is it worth to make a complaint to the SRA?
Or anything we could do to speed things up?

I am sorry, as probably most of my terms are pretty basic, but I’m no solicitor whatsoever neither I have bought a property before.

But any piece of advice may help, and I would be very grateful for your replies.

Thank you
A frustrated Family

davidmcn

What makes you suspect your solicitor has been negligent? It's much more likely that the delay lies with the freeholders.

eddddy

So I guess a price and terms have been agreed with the freeholder.

Some 'nasty' freeholders might change their minds at the last minute, and the ask for more money - because they know the seller is likely to become desperate.

So the delay it may be down to negotiations/ arguments between the seller and their freeholder.

CheekySeagull

Hi and thank you for your reply. I can’t say the solicitor is definitely in fault, but the deed was “prepared” few months ago and they said that was dealt with, not telling us it still needed approval. We were also charged for it. They realized this when we asked the seller solicitor to exchange contracts. And when asked for an estimated timeframe they just can’t say. I just wish they did not make promises they cannot keep. All we want is an honest answer.

eddddy

CheekySeagull wrote: »

Hi and thank you for your reply. I can’t say the solicitor is definitely in fault, but the deed was “prepared” few months ago and they said that was dealt with, not telling us it still needed approval.

TBH, I doubt it's the solicitor's fault.

All a solicitor can do is prepare the deed. They cannot hold a gun to the freeholder's head and force the freeholder to sign it.

cattie

It is quite normal for a lease to state that steps to repossess can be taken if leaseholder fails to pay service or ground rent charges & I think very few freeholders would accept any such change to a lease.

This being pretty standard in leases I don't see why you think it will make a difference to any person wanting to get a mortgage in the future, as it will be a condition that all mortgage lenders are more than familar with. No lender has ever refused me a mortgage with these terms in the lease.

As you are trying to get freeholder to sign away some of his rights, (which are nothing out of the ordinary with leaseholds) before proceeding with purchase, I think you need to steer away from buying a flat & find yourself a house instead.

davidmcn

CheekySeagull wrote: »

And when asked for an estimated timeframe they just can’t say. I just wish they did not make promises they cannot keep.

They can't give any sort of accurate timescale when they don't know how long it will take other parties to do things. If they give you some sort of indication of how long it typically takes, that's not a "promise".

eddddy

cattie wrote: »

It is quite normal for a lease to state that steps to repossess can be taken if leaseholder fails to pay service or ground rent charges & I think very few freeholders would accept any such change to a lease.

I suspect the issue is slightly different from that.

If the ground rent is over £250 per year (or £1000 in London), then the lease probably falls within the Housing Act 1988 and will be considered to be an AST.

So it's much easier for a freeholder to terminate the lease if the ground rent is over £250 (or £1000).


So I guess the OP want's the "doubling ground rent" clause removed, which will have the side effect of keeping the ground rent under £250 (or £1000) and making it harder to forfeit the lease.

Edit to add...

Here's a bit more info on that: https://www.mishcon.com/news/publications/real_insights_-_property_update_05_2017/assured_tenancy_traps__the_unexpected_ast_05_2017

Lily1992

Hi
I am in exactly the same position regarding the Deed of Variation and doubling ground rent but I am trying to sell the flat.
Has yours been rectified yet? How long did this take?
Thanks

eddddy

Lily1992 wrote: »

Hi
I am in exactly the same position regarding the Deed of Variation and doubling ground rent but I am trying to sell the flat.
Has yours been rectified yet? How long did this take?
Thanks

Are you selling or buying?

Has the freeholder agreed the terms of the Deed of Variation? i.e. Has it been agreed how much money the freeholder gets?


The deed of variation will be a short document - maybe 2 or 3 pages, so a solicitor should be able to draw it up very quickly.

Then it's a case of how quickly the freeholder will sign it (assuming the freeholder is happy with the terms, and doesn't change their mind, etc.)

ethank

Frankly, don't think you will get a freeholder to sign off on one of those changes.