ground rent

[Robert Kent]

My 2 neighbours pay me 50p a year ground rent. This was set in deeds as old money and upped to 50p when decimalised.this has not changed with inflation or house prices. One neighbour wants to pay for 10 years in advance. My questions are can this amount be raised and if so what amount is feesable . Also should i keep payments on a per year basis any assistance would be welcomed thank you all in advance

[enaid]

Re: ground rent

I think you will find the answer in the lease it should tell you in the lease if it can be raised and how often. I think you can also up the ground rent if the house is sold.

[CleverClogs]

Re: ground rent

My 2 neighbours pay me 50p a year ground rent. This was set in deeds as old money and upped to 50p when decimalised.this has not changed with inflation or house prices.

Do you spent the £1 all at once or do you prefer to save it for your holidays?

[shell]

Re: ground rent

Is this ground rent for access and egress?

[Robert Kent]

Re: ground rent

The two neighbours property was built on my original garden bout 1900. i have access thru their garden but they have none thru mine they are old documents i have and are really hard to understand so not sure as to your answer thanks

[CleverClogs]

Re: ground rent

The two neighbours property was built on my original garden bout 1900. i have access thru their garden but they have none thru mine they are old documents i have and are really hard to understand so not sure as to your answer thanks

So they are not renting an easement or means of access.

They sound as if they are perpetual annual rentcharges, otherwise known as Chief Rent. That would be why they have never been increased - they can't be, as the sum of money was written into the deeds of those two houses.

The rentcharges will be extinguished in 2037 by section 3 of the Rentcharges Act 1977 (link) and your neighbours could (link) apply for redemption of the rentcharges before then, paying you a fee worked out by a formula (link) linked to the yield, as a decimal, of 2½ per cent. Consolidated Stock and the annual amount of the rentcharge to be redeemed.

Whilst calculating the fee may provide some amusement to a drab little civil servant in a drab little office, I doubt that it would buy a round of drinks at the local hostelry, so it might not really be worth the bother. Besides, the thrill (?) of working with such small numbers might be more than the drab little man could stand - and I'm sure you'd not like his demise to be on your conscience.

You aren't going to make a fortune out of those rents, you won't be able to bump up the rents, you won't be able to grab their houses and it doesn't grant you droit du seigneur - link - over their daughters or, in these days of 'equality', over their sons.

Wouldn't it be more neighbourly for you to give them a redemption certificate each and celebrate the deal with them chipping in for a meal at a local restaurant?