We can assist you with the sale or purchase of a leasehold property

Our Service

If a property is freehold you are the only person entitled to that particular area of land or building.

If your property is leasehold then your landlord will own the freehold title and you will be entitled to exclusive use and occupation of your land and building for a fixed term of years, for houses this is usually the remainder of 999 year term and for flats the term is usually less and ranges from between 125 and 250 years.

All leases require the payment of a ground rent, which in some instances is a peppercorn (so nil). Apartment leases will also require payment of service charge for the maintenance and use of any shared areas. may have to pay a ground rent.

The work involved in dealing with the sale or purchase of a leasehold property is more complex than that of a freehold house.

On a sale, we will make contact with both the landlord and management company at the outset of the matter to obtain the necessary information pack to provide to the buyers. On completion we will settle any outstanding ground rent or service charge arrears from the proceeds of sale and if appropriate obtain any contributions due from the buyers.

On a purchase,  we will review the lease terms in detail to ensure there are no onerous restrictions on use and that all the necessary rights to access the property and for the use and enjoyment of any communal areas are in place. Arrangements for the general maintenance, management and insurance particularly in relation to apartments have to be checked in detail. We will provide you with a detailed report setting out the main obligations and restrictions on use in addition to payments required to be made to the landlord and/or managing agent such as ground rent or service charge.

We not only advise sellers and buyers of leasehold property but also assist landlords and management companies with general advise in relation to lease terms and following on from this we are able to prepare documentation to resolve any issues such as deeds of variation to existing leases.

Our Approach

The solicitors in our residential property team have years of experience in dealing with leasehold houses and apartments both locally and nationally. We can identify potential issues with existing leases swiftly and possess the necessary knowledge to propose solutions if a lease is defective at an early stage in the process to prevent substantial delays in achieving completion of your sale or purchase.

Our team is recognised as one of the friendliest and most approachable in Manchester whilst at the same time being the market leader in terms of service levels.