Advice for leaseholder/tenant

Before signing a Lease/Tenancy Agreement

This may sound obvious but read and understand what you're signing.  It's so easy to be swept along with the desire to purchase your dream house/flat, especially if it's new and or you're a first time buyer - you will just want to move in!  But remember this is a massive commitment and you must go in with your eyes open.

Some developer's may look to  exploit  this expecting  unreasonable  time  periods  for  Completion,  which  may   involve penalties  such  as losing  your  deposit.  They  may strongly  suggest you  use  one  of  their  preferred conveyancy  solicitor's because  it  will  be  'quicker' - be  wary  of  this:  it  is  your  ultimate  choice.

Also it  is  critical that you  have a  chance  to read  your  Lease so  that  you  are  aware   of any  conditions  or  covenants  that it  may  contain - a  simple  but  common  condition  is  that you  may  not  be  permitted  to  have  a  cat or  dog,  or  perhaps  not  be  able  to  park  a  commercial  vehicle  at  all  on the  estate.

Standard practice is to send ou a copy of the Lease after you have exchanged contracts - that is too late and under recent legislation (Land Registration Act 2002) you are entitled to request a copy of the Lease: you will be told that you cannot change any of the terms, which is true, but at  least  you will be aware beforehand.

After signing  a Lease/Tenancy Agreement

This  is  particularly relevant  if  you  haven't  lived  on a mixed  tenure  developement  before,  and  more  so  if you're  living  in a  block  of  flats.  Effectively  you  are   living  within a  community - of  course,  you and your  family can  live  independently  but  other  people  are   very  close   by which  you  may  need  to  adapt  to.

A simple  example is noise - if  you're  on a  middle  floor with  neighbours above, below and  to the sides  of  you,  be  prepared  for  an  element of  noise.  Modern  buildings  are much  more  robust and  more  recent  design and  regulations  have  improved  matters   but  you  can't  reasonably  expect  to  hear nothing  from  your  neighbours. Your  Lease  will  protect  you  to  a  certain  extent with  provisions  against   excessive  noise  and  possibly  impose  restrictions  at  night.

You need  to  live in  accordance with the  provisions of  your  Lease and it's  expected  you  know what  these  are.  The  inside of  your  property  is  entirely  your responsibility  to  keep  clean, decorated, repaired  and  maintained, but the  outside elevations,  corridors and  other  communal  parts,   including the  estate  roads  and  gardens, are  the  collective  responsibility of  all the  Leaseholders,  and  typically  through a  Managing  Agent, these areas are managed  by them on  your behalf  for  which  you pay an annual  Service Charge.   It   is  likely  that  you  will  also  have  a separate  Freeholder,  to  whom  you pay  Ground  Rent  twice a  year - all these  things  must  be  stated  in  your  Lease.

Next steps

If you find any of this guidance is confusing or you'd just like to find out a little more about how we can help you, then please give us a call or send us an email.