Roger owns a leasehold flat in a converted terraced house and he bought a half-share of the freehold. If major repairs were necessary to the roof, for example, who would have responsibility? He has not paid any ground rent. He has also been advised that he cannot move his buildings insurance to a more competitive company because he does not own all the freehold.
Kat Callo, of Rosetta Consulting, says:
Roger needs to identify his rights and obligations both as leaseholder and a shareholder of the freehold company. It is the freeholder, or landlord, as owner of the building, who is responsible for maintenance and repairs and insuring the building. It is the leaseholders who pay for this work and insurance, in the form of service charges. He can identify the freeholder by visiting the Land Registry website at www.landregisteronline.gov.uk, clicking on “property enquiry”, filling in the address details of the building and paying £2 for a copy of the freehold title, which contains the name and address of the freeholder. You can also download a copy of all leasehold titles in the building at this site.
The next step is to identify the directors of the freehold company. It is the shareholders who own the company and appoint directors to run it. A list of directors of any limited company can be downloaded for £1 at the Companies House website at www.companieshouse.gov.uk. There may or may not be ground rent payable for Roger’s flat. Normally, when leaseholders buy the freehold of their building, they grant themselves 999-year leases and they eliminate the ground rent.
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He should read his lease to identify whether there is ground rent payable. He or his mortgage lender should have the original lease, but a certified copy can be obtained within a few days for £8 by post from the nearest Land Registry office. Call 020-8727 2420 to find your nearest office.
Finally, although Roger believes that he owns half the freehold, he needs to verify this. Leaseholders sometimes believe they own a share of the freehold when they or the previous owners of the flat have bought only a lease extension.
Rosetta Consulting: 020-7853 2283
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LORNA BLACKWOOD
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