Buying a freehold house but part of garden (15ft strip) is leased to council– anyone had experience?

MyRealNameToo

Have you seen the lease and what obligations it puts on you as the freeholder? Is there any ground rent or other charges the council has to pay?

If there are no boundaries is the ground simply running onto a road? Are you still happy with your offer knowing you arent getting all the grounds you thought you were?

newmember676

mta999 said:

Yes it's unusual and could affect in the future your ability to resell or the price you get

Probably a silly question but have you contacted the council and ask why there is a lease?

You need to know what is in the lease are there any restrictions for example or are they free to do what they want for example erect a sewage works.

Remember as lease holders they have the right to do what they want on that land unless specifically restricted in the lease

if your mortgage company does not like leases you could offer to sell that strip to the council

My solicitor said that only the current Owner can contact to the council, as he is the owner at this point, not me. The restrictions are that "Don’t cause nuisance/annoyance" and "Do not put up any building or structure of any kind on that strip without the Council’s written consent" "Do not assign, underlet or part with possession of the strip (i.e., I can’t deal with it separately from the house) without the Council’s consent." 

newmember676

MyRealNameToo said:

Have you seen the lease and what obligations it puts on you as the freeholder? Is there any ground rent or other charges the council has to pay?

If there are no boundaries is the ground simply running onto a road? Are you still happy with your offer knowing you arent getting all the grounds you thought you were?

The council will pay only a few pennies per year, that’s it. The land is the last 15 feet at the end of the rear garden, which is connected from the back to another house’s garden, not a road. I was happy that the house is freehold, but when the solicitor started his work, he found this lease from somewhere and shared it with me. I was always thinking the house is freehold, I didn’t know at all that a lease is involved. The estate agent said that he also didn’t know, and the person selling the house also didn’t tell the estate agent. Even in the Land Registry database, the house is showing as freehold. That’s the story.

user1977

newmember676 said:

mta999 said:

Yes it's unusual and could affect in the future your ability to resell or the price you get

Probably a silly question but have you contacted the council and ask why there is a lease?

You need to know what is in the lease are there any restrictions for example or are they free to do what they want for example erect a sewage works.

Remember as lease holders they have the right to do what they want on that land unless specifically restricted in the lease

if your mortgage company does not like leases you could offer to sell that strip to the council

My solicitor said that only the current Owner can contact to the council, as he is the owner at this point, not me. The restrictions are that "Don’t cause nuisance/annoyance" and "Do not put up any building or structure of any kind on that strip without the Council’s written consent" "Do not assign, underlet or part with possession of the strip (i.e., I can’t deal with it separately from the house) without the Council’s consent." 

I think something's got confused. Those sound more like restrictions on what the tenant (i.e. the council) can do - obviously the landlord can't put up buildings etc anyway because they're not occupying the land, the tenant is. And it would be weird for the landlord to need the tenant's consent to sell the landlord's interest.

silvercar

Easiest would be for the current seller to gift the land to the council, leaving behind a freehold property. Or at least split the title into 2, retaining the leasehold section themselves. That way they are selling a freehold property with garden,.

Neil49

What does the current owner say about the situation. He can't complain about being asked as the subject will have to be clarified at some stage in your buying process and the sooner it is explained the better. 

Section62

newmember676 said:

Hi all, I’m a first-time buyer and feeling quite nervous. I’m buying a freehold house, but I’ve discovered that a 15-foot strip at the very end of the back garden has actually been leased out to the council (so the council is the tenant).

...

Are you sure the land is leased to the council, not from the council?

If it is 'to' then I'd expect it might have something to do with drainage - e.g. there's a sewer under the land.  Or else the council wanted access to the adjacent land and for some reason a normal wayleave or RoW wasn't considered adequate.

lincroft1710

Section62 said:

newmember676 said:

Hi all, I’m a first-time buyer and feeling quite nervous. I’m buying a freehold house, but I’ve discovered that a 15-foot strip at the very end of the back garden has actually been leased out to the council (so the council is the tenant).

...

Are you sure the land is leased to the council, not from the council?

My thoughts exactly.


Part of the front garden of my first house (which I bought nearly 50 yrs ago) was owned by the council. No lease, just allowed to use it, but nothing was to be placed on the council owned part (corner plot) which would be detrimental to the visibility splay. Google StreetView (2015) shows a subsequent owner has enclosed some of the land with a fence.

poseidon1

newmember676 said:

gwynlas said:

Is there a fence showing this division?

As above what is this strip used for?

Thank you for your comment. No There is no fence showing the division. for you 2nd question, there are only two very large trees

Check whether the trees are the subject of tree preservation orders (TPOs) and the lease is therefore the council's unusual  (but perhaps more effective) way to ensure the orders are not breached.

newmember676

poseidon1 said:

newmember676 said:

gwynlas said:

Is there a fence showing this division?

As above what is this strip used for?

Thank you for your comment. No There is no fence showing the division. for you 2nd question, there are only two very large trees

Check whether the trees are the subject of tree preservation orders (TPOs) and the lease is therefore the council's unusual  (but perhaps more effective) way to ensure the orders are not breached.

How can we check if the trees have a TPO (Tree Preservation Order) on them? And who should check it? I am not the owner yet — only the solicitor has shared the lease with me, and in that lease there is no mention of trees, only the 15 feet of land that has been leased to the council.