Deed of Variation Cost

mc1982_2

Hi Everybody,

I am purchasing a leasehold flat, very advanced stage of the process. Our solicitor demand a Deed of Variation, as the lease document was not completely correct. Vendor solicitor says is not necessary and the seller is refusing to pay for it. I was told the fee was 180 pounds and I decided to pay it. However we received this communication (see below) from the seller solicitor, that seems a bit strange to me. Can anyone help me to understand if this is a normal thing (I am a first time buyer) and if it effectively a long procedure (they mentioned 3 months) to complete the deed of variation.

Regards
MC

“Our clients’ are prepared to consider your request upon receipt of the following:



• Copy of the Lease



• Copy of the Freehold and Leasehold Title



• Payment of our clients’ initial legal costs of £150.00 + VAT



Upon receipt of the above, we shall take our clients’ instructions accordingly.



We must advise from the outset in our experience Deed of Variation matters take on average 3 months to complete, of course if all parties turn things round within a matter of days then this timescale can be greatly reduced.



Please note, if our client is willing to proceed further fees will be payable. In the event that our client does not wish to proceed your payment of £180 inclusive VAT will not be refunded.”

davidmcn

What exactly does your solicitor think needs varied?

mc1982_2

Apparently Lease Plan is defective as it grants rights over a certain piece of land, however there is no land marked on the Lease Plan. My solicitor said that If there is no land edged marked there then I will not have rights over said land

SmashedAvacado

So actually what they should be asking for is a deed of rectification and not a deed of variation - and in such cases, it is usual for each party to pay its own costs, because a mistake has clearly been made.

You are not seeking to vary the lease - you are seeking to correct a mistake in it.

If you make this point strongly, you might find they agree to fix it.

The cost point is that the landlord wants paying to think about saying yes in principle. If they say yes, then they will want fees for the document. So you had better steer clear on the idea that this is a variation.

Your solicitor and your seller's solicitor really ought to have thought about this a bit more than they have.

AdrianC

You want to vary the lease, then it needs agreement between both sides - leaseholder and freeholder.

Your solicitor is charging £180+vat for your side.
The freeholder want £150+vat for their side.
Getting the whole thing done, including delays in registering the change at the Land Registry, will take three months.

hazyjo

Was told a seller I was once buying off had to pay over £1,500 for a deed of variation (think later called a 'deed of rectification'). Not sure if they're the same thing or not. Did slow it all down by a couple of months.

Tom99

hazyjo wrote: »

Was told a seller I was once buying off had to pay over £1,500 for a deed of variation (think later called a 'deed of rectification'). Not sure if they're the same thing or not. Did slow it all down by a couple of months.

There is no difference between a deed of variation/rectification.
Calling it rectification might make it sound more acceptable to the landlord that's all, the following wording will be exactly the same.

SmashedAvacado

Tom99 wrote: »

There is no difference between a deed of variation/rectification.
Calling it rectification might make it sound more acceptable to the landlord that's all, the following wording will be exactly the same.

Tom - wash your mouth out. there certainly is. A deed of rectification documents a mistake made to a lease. It does not vary the lease - it rectifies the mistake. A deed of variation - varies the lease, and potentially could have SDLT considerations if, for example the variation amounts to a surrender and regrant. If you are documenting rights of access / changes to plans which ought to be have correct from the outset and you use a deed of variation then you could potentially be exposing yourself / your client to an SDLT charge.

hazyjo

SmashedAvacado wrote: »

Tom - wash your mouth out. there certainly is. A deed of rectification documents a mistake made to a lease. It does not vary the lease - it rectifies the mistake. A deed of variation - varies the lease, and potentially could have SDLT considerations if, for example the variation amounts to a surrender and regrant. If you are documenting rights of access / changes to plans which ought to be have correct from the outset and you use a deed of variation then you could potentially be exposing yourself / your client to an SDLT charge.

Cheers. That makes sense then - it was a freehold house with two leasehold garages which should have been assigned to the house. The solicitor of the first buyers (new build) missed it. I bought off them. My solicitor spotted it. The vendors paid.