Deed of certificate - Can’t find the previous owner

MWT

GDB2222 said:

MWT said:

GDB2222 said:

Of course the op should try everything he can to work round the problem. But if he is left with an unsaleable flat, he may have to sue his conveyancer.

Good luck with that..

If the completion was the day before the law took effect then it has no bearing on the transaction and no duty of care would apply, and certainly no obligation to collect information not required for that transaction in anticipation of some future potential transaction....

The OP will need to get professional advice about the merits of the case before instituting proceedings, and that will of course take into consideration what the duties of the conveyancer are in regards to legislation which is going through parliament at the time of the transaction. I am sure that we can all agree that in a matter of this magnitude he should not rely on unqualified advice from people on a forum. 

Nothing written on the forum can reach the level of 'advice that can be relied upon' in either direction, so care should be taken when contemplating any action likely to involve significant cost.

For the OP, I'd suggest that finding a route to reach the former owner is probably more beneficial as it could deliver a real solution, whereas seeking to apportion blame for not having the answers still leaves them without the answers they need....

gm0

There may be a finesse to get the requirement dropped.  Depending on true situation vs conveyancer assumptions

If the site and lease are non-qualifying for the service recharge caps and certificates.  

Example share of freehold, commonhold and the various other criteria explained in the government guidance.  

Then saying - don't have this - it's not a qualifying situation because x - see this - so it's excluded from this system - may make the forms problem change shape and go away.  

If you can point to a legitimate reason it doesn't apply and that the conveyancer failed to spot it before asking the questions.  This "caps off the problem" in a different way. 

The various parties need to accept the situation (and documentation) and tick their box.  

And I honestly don't know what the state of practice in 2025 is on this.  For the situations where people ask for them even for sites where they are "not qualifying".  Conveyancer should.  But do they?

GDB2222

MWT said:

GDB2222 said:

MWT said:

GDB2222 said:

Of course the op should try everything he can to work round the problem. But if he is left with an unsaleable flat, he may have to sue his conveyancer.

Good luck with that..

If the completion was the day before the law took effect then it has no bearing on the transaction and no duty of care would apply, and certainly no obligation to collect information not required for that transaction in anticipation of some future potential transaction....

The OP will need to get professional advice about the merits of the case before instituting proceedings, and that will of course take into consideration what the duties of the conveyancer are in regards to legislation which is going through parliament at the time of the transaction. I am sure that we can all agree that in a matter of this magnitude he should not rely on unqualified advice from people on a forum. 

Nothing written on the forum can reach the level of 'advice that can be relied upon' in either direction, so care should be taken when contemplating any action likely to involve significant cost.

For the OP, I'd suggest that finding a route to reach the former owner is probably more beneficial as it could deliver a real solution, whereas seeking to apportion blame for not having the answers still leaves them without the answers they need....

Totally agree. Litigation should only ever be a last resort. 

Incidentally, there’s nothing to stop the op using a detective agency to track down the previous owner.