“As a leaseholder, an absent landlord can be a major problem in various situations. However, there is usually a solution or a workaround, some of which are discussed below. Please do contact us for advice.”Mike Hansom, Head of Leasehold Property RightsContact our leasehold team on 01225 462871. Alternatively, email us or complete the Contact Form below. |
Missing landlord
An absent landlord – or an unresponsive one – is problematic. Common issues include:
Landlord’s obligations
The landlord has ongoing obligations under the lease, including maintenance and insuring the property. In the absence of the landlord, leaseholders often attempt management of the building ad hoc. But that is far from ideal.
For example, a leaseholder has no right to demand payment of service charges from their neighbours. Nor can leaseholders be compelled to carry out work to the fabric of the building or their own flat. It is also difficult to insure the building when your legal interest is only part of it (your flat). This problem is less acute where:
- a management company is party to the lease; or
- leaseholders have exercised their Right to Manage (RTM).
Nobody to contact
An absent landlord means there is nobody to contact if you want to:
Selling and remortgaging
Problems can also arise should you want to sell or remortgage your property.
There are several reasons a landlord is considered ‘missing’ or ‘absent’. The law – and therefore, the potential solution – differs depending on whether the landlord is/was a company or an individual person.
“The insights that you provided have been very helpful and confidence boosting.” MG
Missing individual landlord
If your landlord is no longer at the last known address provided, they are not necessarily ‘missing’. Therefore, it may still be possible to properly serve them with documents at that address. However, whether this “deemed service” is effective depends very much on the particular circumstances. The court must be satisfied that you have carried out a reasonable search. Typical investigations include searching the electoral roll, placing advertisements, and possibly even instructing an inquiry agent.
If your landlord has died and they did not own the property jointly with another person(s), their personal representatives can deal with the property as soon as they have probate (if there is a Will) or letters of administration (if there is no Will). A search of the probate register should reveal the names and contact details of the personal representatives. If they died without leaving a Will and had no known relatives, the Bona Vacantia Department will deal with the estate.
For a bankrupt landlord, it may be possible to serve notices on the trustee in bankruptcy.
Your landlord is a company
Carrying out a search on the Companies House website confirms whether a company still exists or is dissolved. If it still exists, it is sometimes (but not always) possible to serve documents at the company’s registered office. Doing so has legal effect even if you receive no response.
On dissolution, a company legally ceases to exist. The term ‘bona vacantia’ (Latin for ‘ownerless goods’) refers to any assets held by the company at the time of its dissolution. By definition, those assets are ‘ownerless’ and, whatever their nature, they pass automatically to the Crown. The Bona Vacantia Division (BVD) of the Government Legal Department deals with bona vacantia assets on the Crown’s behalf. For further information see Bona Vacantia Property.
“Until we contacted you, we truly thought this was an irresolvable problem. Thank you for enabling us to move on with our lives.” PH
Buying freehold from absent landlord
But what should you do if your landlord is genuinely missing and you wish to:
- extend your lease; or
- buy the freehold?
The law allows an application to the court for a ‘Vesting Order’ whereby the court can:
- make an order extending the lease; or
- transferring the freehold.
However, there are strict procedures to follow culminating in a court hearing. Therefore, we strongly recommend contacting us for advice before proceeding.
Absent landlord indemnity policy
An absent landlord indemnity policy is usually available for a modest premium. Absent landlord insurance is designed for the situation where:
- the landlord of a single private dwelling is missing, unresponsive or insolvent; and
- you cannot obtain ground rent receipts at the date of purchase of the property.
The policy indemnifies you should the landlord or their successor later reappear and make a claim against you.
Buying a property with absent freeholder
Although not ideal, most problems associated with an absent landlord are resolvable in terms of making the title acceptable to a mortgage lender.
An absent landlord indemnity policy covers you against litigation risk should the freeholder rematerialise, seeking ground rent or enforcing lease covenants.
Similarly, an additional policy of buildings insurance covers the situation (assuming flat owners have insured their respective parts of the property) where there are one or more uninsured flat owners.
These steps, together with a clear understanding of what is happening ‘on the ground’, generally get you to the point where the title is acceptable for purchase and mortgage purposes.
