BUYING A LEASEHOLD FLAT
The vast majority of flats sold in England and Wales are leasehold. Unlike a freehold house that rests on its own plot of land a flat is just a part of a structure which contains other homes. A private occupant can not own the freehold since the land on which the structure is built is shown other occupiers. Consequently the designer of the building generally maintains the freehold and offers long-lasting leases to individual flat owners or 'leaseholders'.
In leasehold blocks there will always be a freeholder or landlord and even if a flat is marketed as freehold it simply indicates its owner has a share of a freehold, which would be held by a resident freehold company. There are very couple of flats that are commonhold, which is a fairly current type of period where the flat-owners also own the communal areas and there is no landlord/flat-owner relationship. Owners of commonhold flats have no rights or protection under proprietor and renter legislation and a prospective buyer should seek legal advice before buying.
What is a lease?
A lease, which is a lawfully binding written contract, transfers ownership of a flat for an agreed set period of time called the lease 'term'. It defines the occupier's commitments such as the payment of service charges and ground lease and the facilities readily available such as parking and the access to and enjoyment of communal locations, such as gardens or homeowners' lounge.
There is no basic kind of lease for existing or recently built residential or commercial properties regardless of the truth that a lot of leases will consist of lots of similar terms. Residential leases within the same residential or commercial property will generally be considerably the exact same however might differ in some aspects such as the percentage of the service fee payable.
The vast majority of flats sold in England and Wales are leasehold. Unlike a freehold house that rests on its own plot of land a flat is just a part of a structure which contains other homes. A private occupant can not own the freehold since the land on which the structure is built is shown other occupiers. Consequently the designer of the building generally maintains the freehold and offers long-lasting leases to individual flat owners or 'leaseholders'.
In leasehold blocks there will always be a freeholder or landlord and even if a flat is marketed as freehold it simply indicates its owner has a share of a freehold, which would be held by a resident freehold company. There are very couple of flats that are commonhold, which is a fairly current type of period where the flat-owners also own the communal areas and there is no landlord/flat-owner relationship. Owners of commonhold flats have no rights or protection under proprietor and renter legislation and a prospective buyer should seek legal advice before buying.
What is a lease?
A lease, which is a lawfully binding written contract, transfers ownership of a flat for an agreed set period of time called the lease 'term'. It defines the occupier's commitments such as the payment of service charges and ground lease and the facilities readily available such as parking and the access to and enjoyment of communal locations, such as gardens or homeowners' lounge.
There is no basic kind of lease for existing or recently built residential or commercial properties regardless of the truth that a lot of leases will consist of lots of similar terms. Residential leases within the same residential or commercial property will generally be considerably the exact same however might differ in some aspects such as the percentage of the service fee payable.