Key Terms in Residential Conveyancing

Our extremely knowledgeable solicitors are able to advise you in a friendly manner on all the options available to you and associated technicalities to help you understand the implications any gift or loan provision will have upon your estate and also the situation of your loved one.

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

Examples of recent work:

• A loan from parents to daughter to allow the purchase of a new property to proceed while protecting their capital investment to ensure fair distribution between all their children through their estate.
• A loan from daughter to mother to allow her to purchase a new more suitable property pending sale of the mothers existing property

Covenants:

A covenant is a legally binding promise to do or not to do certain things with property or land. Covenants can be either positive or restrictive. A positive covenant is a promise to do something or spend money (e.g. to contribute towards the maintenance of a shared driveway). A restrictive covenant is a promise not to do certain things for the benefit of other land and therefore amount to a restriction on the use of a property (e.g. no trade or business to be carried out at a property).

Ground rent:

Ground Rent is a periodical payment, usually paid once a year by the owner of a Leasehold property to the Freehold Owner or Superior Leasehold Owner (Landlord). The ground rent amount is set out in the lease.

Rentcharge:

This is similar to a ground rent but is charged on freehold properties. Rentcharges will be extinguished in 2037 if they are still in existence at that time. No new rentcharges can now be created. Rentcharges are particularly common in the Manchester area.

Service Charge:

This is a charge payable under the terms of a lease or sometimes a freehold transfer (here it is called an estate rentcharge) for management companies and/or landlords to recover the cost of providing services, insurance and maintenance of communal areas.