Leasehold covenants

Dave_31032023

Hi All,

We own a house which is leasehold with 912 years remaining.

The ground rent is £4.75 per year.

Many properties in the area are like this and a few years back all the freehold titles were purchased by a large company, so we've been paying £4.75 to them for a few years now.

They recently wrote, stating that covenants in the lease mean that they have control over who we take out our buildings insurance with, and so are stating that we must move over to their insurance scheme with Zurich.

I have downloaded both the freehold and leasehold titles from gov.uk (£6 each) and I can't find any such covenant ?

In a phone call they have said it is there and offered to send an extract (which I've not yet received).

Is this something they can do ?

Any comments or experience welcome.

Kind regards

ThisIsWeird

The Freeholder is responsible for the buildings insurance, as this clearly cannot be left to chance, or individual leaseholders - imagine if an uninsured flat goes up in flames?

Individual contents insurance is usually up to each leaseholder; if you don't want it, that's your personal risk.

How was the buildings insurance sorted before? And are you unhappy with their choice?

MultiFuelBurner

You are free to get your contents and buildings cover with whomever you wish.

Wait for their supposed extract. When does your current policy expire?

user1977

ThisIsWeird said:

The Freeholder is responsible for the buildings insurance, as this clearly cannot be left to chance, or individual leaseholders - imagine if an uninsured flat goes up in flames?

It's a house, not a flat. Perfectly feasible for the leaseholder to be responsible for insurance.

Dave_31032023

MultiFuelBurner said:

You are free to get your contents and buildings cover with whomever you wish.

Wait for their supposed extract. When does your current policy expire?

Current policy expires in December. They are happy to wait until them, but have requested a copy of the current policy certificate.

Dave_31032023

ThisIsWeird said:

The Freeholder is responsible for the buildings insurance, as this clearly cannot be left to chance, or individual leaseholders - imagine if an uninsured flat goes up in flames?

Individual contents insurance is usually up to each leaseholder; if you don't want it, that's your personal risk.

How was the buildings insurance sorted before? And are you unhappy with their choice?

Apart from is being a leasehold, it's normal semi-detached house. So we purchased both buildings and contents insurance like anyone else when we move in 5 years ago. At that time the landlord (freehold title owner) was absent or unknown (common with many properties). 

One year after moving in, they purchased a job lot of titles and begun to present the request for rent.

They are only now, 5 years after we moved in, detailing the covenant regarding insurance.

Note. we own the house, so we have always had buildings and contents covered.

I have used their choice of Zurich in the past but found them to be more expensive then others in recent years.

loubel

Dave_31032023 said:

I have downloaded both the freehold and leasehold titles from gov.uk (£6 each) and I can't find any such covenant ?

You need to read your lease for the detail but such provisions aren't uncommon in leasehold houses. The freeholder wants to make sure that you have suitable insurance to protect their interest. 

bouicca21

It’s really down to reading the lease.  Mine (different as it’s a flat, so the obligation is the freeholder’s) merely specifies that the insurance must be with a reputable company.

user1977

See what's in the extract they're sending you and whether that is actually from your lease.

ThisIsWeird

user1977 said:

ThisIsWeird said:

The Freeholder is responsible for the buildings insurance, as this clearly cannot be left to chance, or individual leaseholders - imagine if an uninsured flat goes up in flames?

It's a house, not a flat. Perfectly feasible for the leaseholder to be responsible for insurance.

Thanks, User - interesting that it's different for houses.

Would the FH require proof of there being buildings insurance if taken out individually? Doesn't the same issue apply - they cannot run the risk of one of the properties being uninsured, can they? What would happen if an uninsured semi burned to the ground, damaging the adjoined house?

propertyrental

Dave_31032023 said:

..

We own a house which is leasehold with 912 years remaining.

....

They recently wrote, stating that covenants in the lease mean that they have control over who we take out our buildings insurance with, and so are stating that we must move over to their insurance scheme with Zurich.

I have downloaded both the freehold and leasehold titles from gov.uk (£6 each) and I can't find any such covenant ?

You are are reading the wrong documents.

You need to read the lease to see what obligations it places on you, as leaseholder, or the company as freeholder.

Have you got a copy?

If not, does the Land Register Leasehold title say something like 'copy filed'?

If yes, you can apply for a copy for £7 using for OC2 here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/official-copies-of-documents-registration-oc2