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Ask Adam
Thanks for all the questions you've put to Customer Policy Manager Adam Hookway for this first instalment of our new Ask Adam feature. Please keep them coming!
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Roger Baldwin, Baldwin Wyatt Solicitors: Is it possible for HMLR to consider stating the last date the register was updated on an application enquiry? This can help check if there has been movement other than a discharge which is shown if in the last 30 days.
Adam: Thanks for your suggestion Roger. We'll ensure it is considered against future iterations of View Applications.
Anonymous (name supplied): When applying to close a leasehold title which has ended because of forfeiture, it is difficult to know what Land Registry's processes and timescales for serving notice on the leaseholder would be. Please can you share more information about this process? It would be useful to know whether HMLR's approach varies depending on the circumstances of the forfeiture, how hard HMLR will look to find the tenant, whether evidence of receipt of the notice is sought, and the general timescales, so that we can help explain this process to applicants.
Adam: Great question! As you say, there is a process to be followed re any application seeking to determine a lease following forfeiture – see section 8 of practice guide 26 for general guidance.
As with any application to update the register each one is treated on merit. This type of application would generally rely on evidence in the form of a statutory declaration or statement of truth proving the facts which, it is claimed, amount to a lawful re-entry on a specified date. Additional evidence, such as the notice served by the landlord and any receipt, should be attached as exhibits to such declarations/statements as appropriate.
As the guide states: “we will usually serve notice on the tenant and on any chargee”. So we don’t specifically set out to “find the tenant”. This is covered by the wider checks and assurance our serving of notices offers. Any notice will provide a period of 15 working days for any objection to be made to us.
I thought I'd also explain how a forfeiture happens, for those who are interested. It usually occurs when a lease contains a “proviso for re-entry”, also called a forfeiture clause.
If such a proviso exists, the lease will usually determine when either:
- the landlord re-enters the premises, because the tenant has not paid the rent or owing to a breach of other covenant(s) in the lease; or
- the tenant becomes insolvent.
The landlord may effect the forfeiture by either:
- taking court proceedings; or
- peaceable re-entry.
Our process varies depending on the circumstances and the supporting evidence provided. Having considered this, we'll decide on the next steps, including what notices (if any) we should serve.
We serve notice as follows.
If the forfeited lease is registered, we serve a 15-day notice on:
- all of the registered proprietors of the estate;
- the registered proprietor of any registered charge;
- the chargee under any noted charge; and
- any cautioner.
If the forfeited lease is unregistered, we would ask for details of the owner and any chargee and serve a 15-day notice on them. We would require the same information and serve the same time limited notice(s) in regard to any registered or unregistered inferior leases.
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