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Local Authority on title deeds?

I found a property on rightmove that I was interested in viewing. The ad said it was a leasehold, so I was able to work out the house number from the map and also the previously sold prices.

I downloaded the title deeds and it said the owner is 'Proprietor: THE MAYOR AND BURGESSES OF THE LONDON BOROUGH OF [XXX] of The Town Hall' since 1960.

The property has been bought/sold a number of times over the past 20 years based on the property sale history on rightmove. I'm a bit confused on how this works. Is it normal for ex council flats to still have the local authority on the title deeds?

Comments

  • Norman_Castle
    Norman_Castle Posts: 11,871 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Are they the freeholder?
  • metalloz
    metalloz Posts: 19 Forumite
    10 Posts First Anniversary
    The title deeds say 'This register describes the land and estate comprised in the title' so I think so.

    I might double check with the agent, maybe they have input the address wrong. The ad said it had a long lease, but based on these title deeds its only got 84 years left.
  • AdrianC
    AdrianC Posts: 42,189 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    You're looking at the freehold. The council is the freeholder. Perfectly normal for ex-council houses, bought under RTB?
    You want to look at the lease - which is what you'd be buying.

    84yr lease remaining - long enough to be mortgageable for now, but you'll want to extend it in the nearish future. After 2yrs, you can go down the statutory route, which is unlikely to be very expensive. What's the property worth?
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