Speak to anyone involved in block management, and they’ll tell you horror stories of poorly drafted leases. Badly drafted leases make good and successful management of the block almost impossible. And a variation of the terms of the lease becomes the only real solution to the problem.
Common problems
Although every lease is different, there’s some common issues we see with leases. Here are some of the typical lease variations we see:
- costs recovery: leases that don’t allow certain costs to be recovered from leaseholders
- apportionments: service charge apportionments which add up to less than 100% (meaning there’s a perpetual under recovery of service charges)
- reserve funds: no ability for the landlord (or management company) to collect and maintain a reserve fund
- services: no requirement for certain services to be provided
- insurance: unsatisfactory insurance clauses
Whatever the problem, it’s unlikely to surprise us.
Drafting errors
In addition, we often see mistakes in drafting, including:
- incorrect identification of the flat (or garage, or car parking space) on the lease plan
- incorrect description of the flat in the lease
Whatever the problem, we’re on hand to help and advise on the lease variation.
Requests from lenders
The lending requirements of some lenders often trigger a request for a variation of the lease.
We’re on hand to advise landlords and management companies about any requests that are made to vary the terms of leases.
It’s all in the drafting
Good drafting is key. We all know the horror stories caused by poor drafting and the problems this creates.
We’ll take time to understand the problems, explain the possible solutions, and draft a deed that meets your expectations.
Tell us about your problems
Tell us about your problem leases, and we’ll tell you what you can do to resolve those problems.
We’ll ditch the jargon and guide you through the process step by step.
