Leasehold Houses in London - Conveyancing London Properties

Over 200,000 houses in England and Wales are held on long leases. Many of these are based in the South East of England and in particular in Central London. Many of the leases for houses in London  date back to the 1800’s. The freeholds are often owned by the large estate owners such a Portman or the Crown.

There are three situations that can apply to one of these leasehold houses:

• The freehold has been purchased at some time in the past but the freehold was never registered.
• The London House is leasehold but the freeholder can be found. 
• The house is leasehold but there is an absentee freeholder.   (Because the seller has never been asked for ground rent we often find that he does not realise his property is still leasehold).  Once you have lived in the house for 2 years as lessee you have the right to buy the freehold.   The Leasehold reform Act 1967 enables you, if you qualify, to apply to the County Court to acquire the freehold. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to locate the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent may be useful in carrying out a search and use his/her report as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a London conveyancing solicitor both on investigating the freeholders absence and the application to the County Court.

In the majority of conveyancing London leasehold houses not having the freehold is not a big problem in practice.  One thing that does crop up is that many leasehold properties are registered at the Land Registry with what is called "Good Leasehold" Title which is technically not quite as good as the more normal "Absolute" title.  
For more information about freehold or leasehold conveyancing in London please contact the Fridaysmove London Conveyancing Team