Q: What does buying a leasehold flat involve?

GENERALLY the purchaser of a flat will be buying leasehold property. Most leases run for a period of years; commonly 99, 125, or 999. The landlord owns the freehold land upon which the flats are built and he grants a lease to individual flat owners (known as tenants) for a specific term of years.

It is usual for the lease to impose obligations, known as covenants, on the tenant. Where a building is divided into several flats, the lease granted to each individual tenant will usually be in the same format so that each tenant will be bound by the same obligations and covenants. Examples of these covenants may be:-

Payment of a ground rent each year.

Contribution by the tenant towards communal services, such as insurance, electricity, gardening and repairs.

Ensuring that the flat is kept in good condition and regularly decorated internally.

Prohibition of structural alterations to the flat.

The lease should set out in detail the responsibilities for the use, repair and management of the building as a whole and the individual flats forming part of that building.

In many leases a service/management charge is made to tenants which they are obliged to pay at regular intervals e.g. monthly, quarterly. These funds are then used for repairs and maintenance of the building.

The contents of the lease are extremely important and it is vital that you receive legal advice on the effects of the lease as early as possible in the purchase transaction.

Please contact Margaret Gordon or Daphne Bridson at Maxwell Entwistle & Byrne, 34 Grange Road, West Kirby, Wirral, 625 9154.

Margaret Gordon specialises in property and conveyancing work at Maxwell Entwistle & Byrne, 34 Grange Road, West Kirby.

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