Leasehold and freehold titles PLEASE HELP !!!

Jessie195

Hi. We are first time buyers and found out the freehold property we are purchasing is both freehold and leasehold. We own both titles absolutely and as the freehold cancels out the leasehold the only relevance of the leasehold is to grant right of access to an alleyway and a bit of land in front of the garage and this is why the titles haven’t been merged in the past. Our solicitors told us when the lease expires it would have to be renewed and then later told us it couldn’t be renewed but didn’t give any explanation as to why. The seller was told when she bought the house 2 years ago it could be renewed. They first suggested a deed of grant which could take months so took the decision to ask the land registry if they would transfer the rights over to the freehold as there is nothing in law to say they couldn’t. Almost 6 weeks later we haven’t heard from the land registry and we only have 3 month to complete. Is there any way we could take on the lease and then get a solicitor to look into our options to see if the lease could be renewed, extended or if the rights found be transferred after we’ve bought the house ? Any advice would be appreciated. 

davidmcn

Jessie195 said:

Our solicitors told us when the lease expires it would have to be renewed and then later told us it couldn’t be renewed but didn’t give any explanation as to why.

Have you asked them for an explanation? You are, after all, paying them to give you advice on this sort of thing.

amylan

This issue does crop up once in a blue moon, however given the work backlog at Land Registry I wouldn't expect a rapid response from them. Based on what you have said I can't see why you couldn't acquire both titles and remedy the situation at a later date, however if you are obtaining mortgage financing do ensure your sol has confirmed their satisfaction with this.  It could be a good idea to contact the Leasehold Advisory Service, they can be quite pragmatic in offering advice. Hope that helps! 

Jessie195

davidmcn said:

Jessie195 said:

Our solicitors told us when the lease expires it would have to be renewed and then later told us it couldn’t be renewed but didn’t give any explanation as to why.

Have you asked them for an explanation? You are, after all, paying them to give you advice on this sort of thing.

Hi Thank you so much for your reply. I have but every time I bring up the lease I get mixed messages or vague answers. Personally I don’t believe my solicitors have a clear understanding of the lease. We haven’t had the best experience with them however we are so close to the end of the sale that we don’t want to change solicitors now and further delay things. 

Jessie195

amylan said:

This issue does crop up once in a blue moon, however given the work backlog at Land Registry I wouldn't expect a rapid response from them. Based on what you have said I can't see why you couldn't acquire both titles and remedy the situation at a later date, however if you are obtaining mortgage financing do ensure your sol has confirmed their satisfaction with this.  It could be a good idea to contact the Leasehold Advisory Service, they can be quite pragmatic in offering advice. Hope that helps! 

Hi thank you so much for your comment. We are acquiring a mortgage and there are 51 years so I can’t see it being too much of a problem with regards to the mortgage being accepted. The only reason we are doing it now is because we were told if we merge we could lose the access rights and we’re also told that the lease couldn’t be renewed and it would simply end (which I don’t believe) so again we would lose the rights. Worst case scenario we would own a garage that we have no legal right to access. 

princeofpounds

It's hard to comment without any reasoning for why the lease cannot be extended.

You can't grant a lease to yourself - that may be the objection they are thinking of - but there's nothing to stop you e.g. buying the freehold in a company and have the company (which is a different legal entity to you) permit the extension. Or awarding the new lease in the name of yourself and your spouse, for example.

Moreover, it's not clear to me that you would lose your rights of way if the lease were to be determined (ended) by merger. Wall v Collins 2007 is the key case here. Check out Section 3.4 of this link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/leases-determination/practice-guide-26-leases-determination
That seems to suggest your rights would be preserved

The legislation has been updated since the case and most of the up-to-date commentary appears to be behind legal information provider paywalls, but that shouldn't be a problem for a lawyer (or someone with more time than I have for google-fu). But I can't tell you exactly what the situation is now although it appears ok.

Get your solicitor on the phone and talk this through with them, including these points.