• I Am Looking To Buy A Property That Is Leasehold But The Freeholder Is Untraceable, Ie Died In The Last Century With No Inheritors, The Estate Agents Say That To All Intents And Purposes It Is Therefore A Freehold Property And That Another In The Terrace

    By Guest on 14th Jul 2016

  • 1 Answers

    By Guest on 14/07/2016

    Hi,

    I would need to fill a few gaps in the information before giving a definitive opinion, for example is it a fact that the freeholder died leaving no heir or an assumption? (I suspect it is the latter). If a person does die without a surviving heir then control of his assets passes to the Treasury Solicitor who holds them on trust for the Crown. In the case of a freehold reversion the Treasury Solicitor does not inherit the responsibilities of a landlord but does take the benefits, i.e. the right to collect rent and receive payment in return for extending the lease. In any case you need to consider the following:

    How long is left on the lease? if it is under 100 years then it may well need to be extended by the time you sell, or by your heirs. This is still possible if the freeholder is untraceable but much more difficult and probably therefore more expensive in terms of legal fees

    Is it a house or a flat? If it is a flat then you need to think about maintenance of the common parts of the building - who will enforce the obligations of the other tenants?

    If the property is a house with a very long lease (100 plus years) then you should be able to proceed by putting in place "absent landlord" indemnity insurance. To say that the property is "for all intents and purposes a freehold" is however simply incorrect.

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