Does charity own leasehold or is it a tenant?

aroominyork

I am reviewing for a charity a deed from the 1950s which is headed LAND REGISTRATION ACT 1925. The situation is that there is a body (a registered charity) that exists to support the work of member charities. The Deed contains: 

-          “By a transfer dated [date], the [member charity] Trustees transferred to the [body] the said property known as xxxxxxxxxxxx and the [body] Trustees now hold the said property as Trustees for the [body]”.

-          “The [body] Trustees hereby demise unto the [member charity] Trustees ALL THOSE the land and premises comprised in the title above mentioned TO HOLD the same unto the [member charity] Trustees from the date hereof for a term of nine hundred and ninety nine years PAYING THEREFOR the yearly rent of one shilling in arrear.” 

My question is whether this indicates whether the member charity is leasehold owner of the property or is only a tenant. The member charity has full upkeep responsibilities. 

MyRealNameToo

Have you checked the Land Registry? You can search the address for free and see if there is both a freehold and leasehold record or not.  You could buy the leasehold title for £7 if you are that interested, it will say who the leaseholder is. 

It sounds like a leasehold but it's a tiny snippet of what is normally a much longer document. 

aroominyork

It is a snippet from a much longer document.

Am I right in thinking the seemingly similar terms 'lease' and 'leasehold' can cause confusion, with lease sometimes signifying a tenant, while leasehold always signifies ownership (for the length of the lease)?

I think what I am asking is whether the member charity transferred only the freehold, or freehold ownership. Does that make sense? When you say "It sounds like a leasehold..." do you mean they transferred freehold ownership and in return received leasehold ownership? 

It is free to search but not to get an answer.

Wicks

You need the gov.uk site.

https://www.gov.uk/search-property-information-land-registry 

Charges as below:

Before you start

You’ll need an email address and a debit or credit card to use this service.

Read guidance on getting information about property and land, including alternative sources of information.

How much it costs

It’s free to get a property summary.

It costs £7 to get a title register or a title plan.

If you want to buy documents, you’ll need to create an account.

Official copies cannot be downloaded online - you’ll need to get them sent to you by post. It costs £11 per document.

aroominyork

Wicks said:

You need the gov.uk site.

https://www.gov.uk/search-property-information-land-registry 

Thank you, Wicks. So that means the member charity transferred freehold ownership and is a tenant, yes?

PS  I have come across this among accompanying explanatory papers. "On [date] 1958, the Trustees of [member charity] transferred the freehold of [property address] to the Trustees of the [body] who in return, issued a 999-year lease for [property address] to the Trustees of [member charity]. Stamp duty was paid, and the Lease was signed by both parties. The Lease was issued under title number xxxxxxx by the County of xxxxxxx."

No need for further comments. I'll go back to my contact to clarify this and other ambiguities.