Missing Underlease to property and absent landlord

grahamachilliobrien

Hi, we are tryng to sell our house and are almost at exchange and completion. Currently we have a 'Headlease' with a missing and absent landlord. We are also missing the Underlease to this title. I am trying to search everything I can think of, this includes local authority, archives and other places - i'm coming up with nothing.

Is there anything else I can try, or search. We have offered 'Missing and Absent Landlord indemnity, but they have said no to this.

Please help, thanks 

eddddy

It's a bit difficult to work out what you mean.

Do you simply mean...

• You have a leasehold house, but you don't have a copy of your lease. Your immediate landlord is a headlease holder, and as a second problem, your immediate landlord is absent (untraceable)?

Or do you mean...

• You have a leasehold house, but your lease is a headlease because there appears to be an underlease. But you cannot trace any details of the underlease? And as a completely separate problem - your landlord is absent?

Or something else?

grahamachilliobrien

It is a long story and complicated to explain. We have a headlease, the company was dissolved years ago, this then falls to the City Council as the Landlord, the headlease I think is owned by the Crown. The City council can transfer the underlease hold interest to a new buyer if we sell. I'm trying to work out ways I can get the underlease to the buyer, we don't have a copy, neither does the Land Registry.

user1977

Don't you have a solicitor offering you advice? They're better placed to do so, given they've actually seen the deeds, and you're having some trouble explaining to us what the position is.

grahamachilliobrien

My solicitor doesn't really know either - I guess what I am asking is, is there any other way to get the underlease from another source, other than the Land Registry.

To explain this better, I own the Underlease of the Property. On the sale of the property I will be transferring your underleasehold interest to the Purchaser. The Council owns the freehold interest in the property and adjoining properties. The leasehold interest in the property and adjoining properties is held by the dissolved company (the Head Lease), now vested in the Crown as the company is dissolved) and I own the underleasehold interest in your individual property.

The provisions of the Head Lease granted by the Council require that the Council`s consent is required to any dealings with any of the properties in the Head Lease, which includes the transfer of the underleasehold interest in your property from yourselves to a Buyer.

I hope this explains it better?

eddddy

grahamachilliobrien said:

To explain this better, I own the Underlease of the Property. On the sale of the property I will be transferring your underleasehold interest to the Purchaser. The Council owns the freehold interest in the property and adjoining properties. The leasehold interest in the property and adjoining properties is held by the dissolved company (the Head Lease), now vested in the Crown as the company is dissolved) and I own the underleasehold interest in your individual property.

The provisions of the Head Lease granted by the Council require that the Council`s consent is required to any dealings with any of the properties in the Head Lease, which includes the transfer of the underleasehold interest in your property from yourselves to a Buyer.

I hope this explains it better?

This reads like you have copied a letter form your solicitor - but you have incorrectly changed "you" to "I" in a few places.

(It would be better if you quoted the solicitors letter precisely, without changing any words.)


But all your solicitor is saying is that you need the council's consent to sell your property.


If your solicitor is saying there are other problems as well, maybe quote exactly what the solicitor has said in their letter(s).