BUYING A LEASEHOLD FLAT
The vast bulk of flats sold in England and Wales are leasehold. Unlike a freehold house that rests on its own plot of land a flat is only a part of a structure that contains other dwellings. An individual occupant can not own the freehold due to the fact that the land on which the structure is built is shared with other occupiers. Consequently the designer of the structure typically maintains the freehold and sells long-term leases to private flat owners or 'leaseholders'.
In leasehold obstructs there will always be a freeholder or proprietor and even if a flat is advertised as freehold it simply implies its owner has a share of a freehold, which would be held by a resident freehold company. There are extremely few flats that are commonhold, which is a relatively current kind of tenure where the flat-owners likewise own the communal areas and there is no landlord/flat-owner relationship. Owners of commonhold flats have no rights or security under landlord and renter legislation and a prospective purchaser ought to look for legal advice before buying.
What is a lease?
A lease, which is a lawfully binding written contract, transfers possession of a flat for a concurred fixed amount of time called the lease 'term'. It defines the occupier's obligations such as the payment of service charges and ground lease and the facilities offered such as parking and the access to and satisfaction of common locations, such as gardens or citizens' lounge.
There is no standard form of lease for existing or freshly built residential or commercial properties in spite of the fact that the majority of leases will include lots of similar terms. Residential leases within the same residential or commercial property will generally be considerably the exact same but may vary in some respects such as the proportion of the service fee payable.
The vast bulk of flats sold in England and Wales are leasehold. Unlike a freehold house that rests on its own plot of land a flat is only a part of a structure that contains other dwellings. An individual occupant can not own the freehold due to the fact that the land on which the structure is built is shared with other occupiers. Consequently the designer of the structure typically maintains the freehold and sells long-term leases to private flat owners or 'leaseholders'.
In leasehold obstructs there will always be a freeholder or proprietor and even if a flat is advertised as freehold it simply implies its owner has a share of a freehold, which would be held by a resident freehold company. There are extremely few flats that are commonhold, which is a relatively current kind of tenure where the flat-owners likewise own the communal areas and there is no landlord/flat-owner relationship. Owners of commonhold flats have no rights or security under landlord and renter legislation and a prospective purchaser ought to look for legal advice before buying.
What is a lease?
A lease, which is a lawfully binding written contract, transfers possession of a flat for a concurred fixed amount of time called the lease 'term'. It defines the occupier's obligations such as the payment of service charges and ground lease and the facilities offered such as parking and the access to and satisfaction of common locations, such as gardens or citizens' lounge.
There is no standard form of lease for existing or freshly built residential or commercial properties in spite of the fact that the majority of leases will include lots of similar terms. Residential leases within the same residential or commercial property will generally be considerably the exact same but may vary in some respects such as the proportion of the service fee payable.