Whether you're a layman looking to understand your own transaction or a lawyer needing assistance with a client's conveyancing our step by step sale and purchase guides will lead you through the process while our mini guides will break the whole thing into manageable chunks and give a deep insight into the key issues and stages. Leasehold, freehold, unregistered, registered – we've got it all covered.
Need help with a remortgage or transfer of equity / deed of gift? Our guides will walk you through the process and highlight some of the common pitfalls. Mortgages and transfers can be very simple procedures but complex issues can sometimes arise and mistakes are easily made. These guides will help you deal with them.
So you want to have a go at your own conveyancing? First you should read about the risks, then if you're still happy to proceed, our guides will take you through each stage of the process telling you what to look out for and helping you avoid falling into expensive traps. Our subscription service will give you access to all of the documents you should need for your conveyancing and we can even supply you with the Land Registry Official Copies you'll need. Our general guides will cover all the obstacles you are likely to face and offer a practical solution. Have a look at our sale and purchase guides too.
A big part of the conveyancing process is the conveyancing searches. This section tells you all about them. What they are, how and when to order them and how to interpret the results. Each search has its own guide and you'll see they are separated into Standard (should be done in every case), Regional (area specific) and Optional (not essential but often useful tools for the would be purchaser). All buyers should beware that when you buy a property, the law assumes that you have seen the information that would have been revealed by searches whether or not you have actually carried them out, so you buy the property subject to the results.
Using a conveyancer to handle your conveyancing will greatly reduce the risk to you and sometimes, particularly if you are taking out a new mortgage, you will have no choice but to instruct a conveyancer. The good news is it doesn't have to break the bank. Get a free, instant quote here. We can also help with quick easy quotes for other moving related services.
Are you looking for the documents you'll need for your conveyancing transaction? Or official copies of the title or other documents from Land Registry. We can help you. Follow the links below.
In a nutshell, our building only has 2 flats (A and B), 50/50 share of the Freehold, and the roof had been flattened and converted into a terrace by the previous owners of Flat B (we own flat A). The roof is absent from the land registry Title, the outline in red from the Lease which shows the physical illustration of the property (it's not even shown in drawings, as opposed to our garden which is),
There is only one ambiguous clause in the description of the property which says: "Flat B, the floor plan of which is shown edged red on plan 1 including: The joists and other structural ceiling supports supporting them, the roof, and the air space above the roof". This is a huge issue, as there have been severe leaks in the roof and we have a financial interest in the same.
I believe they have misunderstood this clause, which is present in the Lease of both flats (although their Lease was issued a year prior to ours). I agree the flats extend to the roof joists / structural supports that the roof lies upon but not the roof itself. The property title with Land Registry also says: "Only the first, second and third floor bathroom are included in the title". The roof is on the fourth floor, above the bathroom and is not shown in the title or Lease.
The only document the neighbours have procured is an email exchange of the previous owner of their flat (B), talking with a solicitor about changing the lease to add that specific clause that mentions the roof.
My question is - is the clause ambiguous enough to take them to court, considering the clause is in both our Leases? Is it legal to amend the Lease going against the title of the property and the red enclosed outline, which explicitly excludes the roof?
Thanks in advance for your help.
It would be necessary to view the lease as a whole in order to answer the question fully, but what is it that you are trying to achieve? To force repairs to the roof? Or to be able to carry out repairs? I assume that B is the upper flat and yours is the lower flat?
Hi, thanks for your response. Our flat is A (ground and lower ground) and flat B is first, second floor and third floor. We want the neighbours to buy the roof of of us. That clause is the only mention of the word roof in the entire Lease.