How easy is it to create a lease?

An elderly relative died in the summer leaving his home to the relative who shared it. The will is going through and the solicitor thinks the beneficiary may take legal possession soon. Now another relative has stated that in Spring 2007 the deceased leased him the yard of the property for 99 years. We have no more information than that. What sort of paperwork should we be looking for? How simple a procedure would it be to lease part of your property to someone else? do you need solicitors, surveyors, witnesses? does it have to go through the land registry, tax office?

ElizabethS said:

An elderly relative died in the summer leaving his home to the relative who shared it. The will is going through and the solicitor thinks the beneficiary may take legal possession soon. Now another relative has stated that in Spring 2007 the deceased leased him the yard of the property for 99 years. We have no more information than that. What sort of paperwork should we be looking for? How simple a procedure would it be to lease part of your property to someone else? do you need solicitors, surveyors, witnesses? does it have to go through the land registry, tax office?

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Ask for a copy of the lease document. Whether it needs to be stamped and registered is really a moot point- if there is a lease signed then that needs to be addressed. Generally a solicitor would draw it up but it is not beyond the realms of possibility that somehow a lay person got their hands on a precedent lease and enveigled a signature without legal advice on the part of the lessor.

Thanks, we will request a copy and then take it to a solicitor. If this document is not forthcoming will the inheritor receive the freeholder's copy when he takes possession of the property later in 2009? (I am assuming that an agreement bwteen two parties produces two sets of documents.)
Is there much protection for vulnerable adults in law? (the deceased was already in his eighties at the time of the transaction and died only 16 months later with all his faculties gone).

ElizabethS said:

Thanks, we will request a copy and then take it to a solicitor. If this document is not forthcoming will the inheritor receive the freeholder's copy when he takes possession of the property later in 2009? (I am assuming that an agreement bwteen two parties produces two sets of documents.)
Is there much protection for vulnerable adults in law? (the deceased was already in his eighties at the time of the transaction and died only 16 months later with all his faculties gone).

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There may or may not be an orig and counterpart. Even if there were it is possible the lessee holds both. If the 'freeholder' did hold a copy it should be with his title deeds or held by his solicitor or whereever he kept his documents- there isnt a central depository as such. It may have been registered as a leasehold interest on the freehold and if it were then you could simply find out by asking the land registry for a copy folio ( a public document). If the land is registry of deeds you would need to do a search against the land in the name of the deceased.

As for protection there are the usual 'improvident transaction' type actions or possibly an action mounted that the lessor was not capable (due to senility) of signing the document. Proof is difficult. A lot would depend on how the transaction was conducted - ie through his own independant solicitor or not etc.

The only new information I have today is that my relative has been told that the leasee has the right of purchase and that in this particular county there is no need to declare a lease to any official party (something along those lines, I am finding it hard to believe that there are different laws in different counties). My immediate concern is that the house's cesspit is in this yard, so things could be very awkward, particularly if the yard was sold on. Also, a surveyor visited the site a few months ago to carry out an evaluation for the tax office. The deeds used at the time show one site with no partition, so surely that evaluation is no longer valid? But maybe in this county new boundaries do not have to be shown on deeds?

Sounds like two separate issues being mixed up. As far as I am aware the only registration rule that changes from county to county is the compulsory registration roll-out. Some counties have compulsory registration of unregistered title, some do not. Eventually it is supposed to be rolled out across the entire country.

However a lease over twenty one years is registrable in any case.

If the lease was only just granted in spring 2007, although it should be registered by now, it may not be. In any case whether it is registered or not is really not the issue. The issue is the legality of the lease itself.

As to the cesspit, either the lease may have retained a specific easement for it or if not, it could be considered an easement of necessity.

At this stage, due to your very specific questions, I really feel you need to consult with an independent solicitor and get the appropriate advice. Advice from strangers on the internet, however well meant, is never a substitute for targetted, informed advice from your own solicitor.

Thanks for all your help. I'm just very frustrated as the information we are getting is being drip fed in a very unsettling manner, particularly as the leasee was involved with the will from the start and could have laid his cards on the table at the outset, or mentioned his "purchase" on his daily visits both before and after the deceased's death.

Anyway, best wishes for a Happy New Year