DON’T GET TRAPPED BY LEASEHOLD

double every 10 years. If you stayed for 40 years, it would multiply 16 times – and that’s on top of mortgages, council tax, insurance and maintenance costs. So what seemed an affordable £400 a year to start with, would turn into £800, £1,600, £3,200 and £6,400 – with no upper limit.

At the same time, anyone wanting to buy the freehold could face a vastly inflated bill from the original promise. Freeholds can be sold to investment firms who can demand fees in some cases 10 times as much as the original £5,000 quotation. Leasehold remains rare for individual houses. And it was supposed to have been on the way out for flats as well. In 2002, the then government introduced “commonhold” a system where all the flat owners have an equal stake in the land and common parts. This is similar to the “condominium” system in the United States and schemes in most other countries. But commonhold has failed to catch on.

Some new build firms have now abandoned leasehold – and a few are trying to remedy the situation.

But those stuck with it may find homes almost unsellable except at a huge discount, because some lenders, including Nationwide, refuse to grant mortgages on properties with onerous ground rent clauses. And conveyancing lawyers tend to warn prospective buyers off. land your children with a capital gains tax bill. only be acquired where no permission exists – where the right has been exercised without permission, force or secrecy. However after 40 years I’d be reluctant to give this up without a fight. Carry on as normal until legal steps are taken to prevent you crossing the land as it is unlikely that you would be successful in an application for a prescriptive right due to the ‘agreement’. colour and the firm fitted new panels, but the door has now started to leak. The firm says it is prepared to come back again but will charge us £60 ‘as per contract’. Surely we shouldn’t be charged since the leak was caused by faulty workmanship? THESE firms often have a call-out fee on warranty claims which is refundable if the problem turns out to be indeed covered by the warranty. Check your contract. But in principle you’re right: the new panels should carry the same guarantee as the original units. Try to reach a compromise, since it’s not an amount to take legal action over. I OWNED a bungalow with two acres of land. In 2006 I sold the land and made an agreement that if it was developed for housing I would receive 50 per cent of the net profit. Two years later I sold the bungalow. This year the builder paid me to end our agreement, but the new owners of the bungalow say there’s a covenant in their title deeds which says the builder must pay them to end the agreement, not me. EITHER you made an agreement with the builder when you sold him the land, or you altered your title deeds to benefit the owners of the bungalow: it’s unlikely you will have done both! Without seeing the documents it’s difficult to say who should receive the builder’s money, but since he’s already paid you I suggest you let the builder worry about it for now. Normally the benefit of overage/clawback would be retained for the original seller of the land and could be capable of ownership once the bungalow was sold. »»Call Bromleys Solicitors LLP on 0161 330 6821 or visit www.bromleys. co.uk If you have any legal questions, write to Property Law, MEN Media, Mitchell Henry House, Hollinwood Avenue, Chadderton OL9 8EF, or email mail@ lawQs.co.uk