Tweet
We are in the process of selling our house, and the solicitors for the buyers have questioned the ownership of a middle lease.
There are two registered entries on HMLR for the property- one freehold, one leasehold. Both are in our name and no problem. But there is a third lease, a middle lease (though it has “underlease” written on it) which is unregistered, and apparently allows right to occupy the property. We have the physical lease in our possession (or at least, it’s with our conveyancer) but it’s in the name of the occupiers in 1955 when it was drawn up. We don’t have any pieces of paper to show transfer of ownership to us, and there have been plenty of people who’ve lived in the house over the last 60-odd years. We have owned the house for 17 years and weren’t aware there was any issue as this didn’t crop up when we purchased.
So...
(a) is this a big issue? The buyers’ solicitors have suggested they pull out.
(b) our solicitors suggested a bespoke insurance policy. What do these entail, and what cover would they provide?
(c) is it possible to do something legal to nullify the middle lease given that we have possession of the original document?
(d) is it appropriate for me to claim against my original solicitors given they didn’t warn me at the time, and now it’s threatening to derail the sale of the house.
Thanks!
There are two registered entries on HMLR for the property- one freehold, one leasehold. Both are in our name and no problem. But there is a third lease, a middle lease (though it has “underlease” written on it) which is unregistered, and apparently allows right to occupy the property. We have the physical lease in our possession (or at least, it’s with our conveyancer) but it’s in the name of the occupiers in 1955 when it was drawn up. We don’t have any pieces of paper to show transfer of ownership to us, and there have been plenty of people who’ve lived in the house over the last 60-odd years. We have owned the house for 17 years and weren’t aware there was any issue as this didn’t crop up when we purchased.
So...
(a) is this a big issue? The buyers’ solicitors have suggested they pull out.
(b) our solicitors suggested a bespoke insurance policy. What do these entail, and what cover would they provide?
(c) is it possible to do something legal to nullify the middle lease given that we have possession of the original document?
(d) is it appropriate for me to claim against my original solicitors given they didn’t warn me at the time, and now it’s threatening to derail the sale of the house.
Thanks!
