I am applying for a new mortgage and have come up against a problem. They need to know who I pay ground rent to and it must be fully paid up. However I have not paid for 2 years as I have not received a demand. I rang the phone number of my landlord and was told that he didn't live there anymore and they thought he had died - he was an old man.

Is there anyway I can trace where the lease has gone to?
Another idea I had was to ring up some of these companies who buy up leases in sheffield and see if they have mine.

Not sure but I would have thought the Land Registry would hold details, but if they do not have his new address then you are in the same boat.

Originally posted by mikey
Not sure but I would have thought the Land Registry would hold details, but if they do not have his new address then you are in the same boat.
Certainly the best place to start. You can do an enquiry online, but some searches are charged for (but cheap, £2 or so).
Try www.landregisteronline.gov.uk (but it isn't available on Sundays!)

When I bought a property I ran into a similar situation. My solicitor organised a small insurance policy to cover against the ground landlord claiming something because of the change, maybe your solicitor could look into something like that?

Originally posted by algy
Certainly the best place to start. You can do an enquiry online, but some searches are charged for (but cheap, £2 or so).
Try www.landregisteronline.gov.uk (but it isn't available on Sundays!)

Thanks for this info. I have done a search on this site but it only brought up certain details - not the new freeholders name, only the original leaseholders in 1911.

When we bought our place the ground rent hadn't been collected for a good few years. Like Musey said, our solicitor arranged an insurance policy thing which covered us in case the leaseholder turned up demanding back payment.

We've been here for almost 4 years now, and never been approached for ground rent.

I should have said, we have never been approached for ground rent on the property either.

Solicitors normally arrange an allowance to cover 6 years ground rent, I think Leaseholders can not demand more than 6 years back rent. The allowance works by the vendors receiving money to cover the agreed asking price less the amount of 6 years rent ( if rent is £2 per year. and agreed house price is £100K then the actual money that transfers is £100k less £12). The solicitor will normally take the allowance away from the legal fees of the buyer.Then if the leaseholder asks for back rent, the new owner has the 6 years cover.