House on lease for 999 Years?

M

manojdhirde

Guest
Hi All,

I am buying a 3 bed Duplex house in Citywest, Dublin, so I went to sign contracts for the same.

That time my solicitor told me that the house I am buying is 3 bed Duplex, so there is a house underneath us and we share walls with other houses i.e. its not a detached or semi-detached house. So for these kind of houses i.e. the houses which are not detached or which are sharing walls with other houses, here in Ireland these houses are sold on lease ONLY for say 500 or 999 years.

Solicitor further added that the house I am buying will be on lease for 999 years on my name and I wont be owning the house as such.

I wanted to know is this right?

Thanks,

Manoj Dhirde.
 
Re: House On LEASE for 999 Years??

chances are that you will either have sold on the house or have died within the outstanding term of the lease.

On a serious note, many houses certainly in the 60's and 70's were sold on that basis.
 
Re: House On LEASE for 999 Years??

Sounds like you are buying into a Management Company (MC). If it is a MC you will have to pay an annual service charge for the contractors working in the development and it would probably be worth looking at the Companys account to see if they are in deficit or have a surplus.
 
Many houses are sold leasehold, and one is supposed to pay ground rent. Most often to Lord Lucan though (from memory). My parents' semi d is the same. As presumably is my own duplex )as this has a management company)
 
This is a standard clause but really you should be asking your solicitor to explain this to you to alleviate any concerns you may have. This is what you are paying them to do.
 
You are purchasing a 'leasehold' not a 'freehold'. In the former case the land is not for sale, in the latter the land on which the building is sited is included in the sale and is 'yours'.

You need to speak with your solicitor about, and look very carefully at the details of the lease of, such a property as leasehold can have particular restraints. Otherwise there is nothing untoward about "a 150 year lease" or "a long lease".
 
Re: House on lease for 999 Years??

ClubMan said:
Why? Do you not trust your solicitor or something?
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Nothing wrong with asking for advice or for an explanation on AAM - that is part of what goes on on here.
 
I presume the property is new so as people have already said check re management company. However older properties are commonly on very long leases. My own property is on a 999 year lease but there is now no record of the actual owner so no charges are payable and this has been the situation for so long that no one can now legally claim ownership of property. You may see items on UK websites about "ground rent" but the law is different in Ireland.
 
In this case you are buying the bricks and mortor of your duplex, but not the land it is built upon, with a right to keep the dwelling on that site for 999 years.

With such properties, I dont think it is possible to have freehold title of the land as abviously there is another dwelling below you, not a piece of turf, so not much different to buying in an apartment block.

Things to look out for are the cost of the leasehold, whether or there are any management type company charges applying, issues relating to the sale or cancellation of the leasehold contract, who is responsible for maintaining fabric of building/services etc.
 
Re: House on lease for 999 Years??

efm said:
Nothing wrong with asking for advice or for an explanation on AAM
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I never said that there was anything wrong. I'm just surprised that somebody advised by their solicitor would feel the need to second guess the advice.
 
Re: House on lease for 999 Years??

ClubMan said:
I never said that there was anything wrong. I'm just surprised that somebody advised by their solicitor would feel the need to second guess the advice.
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Because solicitor's aren't always right, because solicitors don't always explain themselves adequately, because the OP may have thought of something else after discussing with his solicitor, because some people like the option of getting a second "opinion", because given the number of negative reports about solicitors in the media these days the OP thought it was prudent to "second guess"....there may be many reasons why somebody would ask a question on AAM
 
Re: House on lease for 999 Years??


Well said efm. There are so many negative reports in media about solicitors nowadys. So wanted to be sure than sorry later. And after all buying a house is big decision.
 
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