How to Find a Missing Freeholder

A missing freeholder can prevent a leaseholder from obtaining a management pack, extending a lease, securing consent for alterations or satisfying a buyer’s mortgage lender. The difficulty often becomes apparent only when the flat is being sold or remortgaged.

“Missing” can mean several different things. The freeholder may have moved, died, dissolved a company, stopped responding or appointed an agent whose details are no longer current. Establishing which situation applies is the first step towards finding the freeholder or proving that reasonable efforts to trace them have failed.

Before starting the search

Speak to a conveyancer experienced in leasehold property before contacting possible freeholders or their relatives.

An absent landlord indemnity policy may sometimes be considered when a property is sold or remortgaged. Contacting the freeholder or drawing the problem to their attention could affect the availability of insurance. Insurance also has important limitations. It does not produce an active landlord who can repair the building, arrange insurance, grant consent, enforce other leases or negotiate a lease extension.

The appropriate approach depends on why the freeholder needs to be found. Tracing someone to request a management pack is different from establishing sufficient evidence for a court application concerning a missing landlord.

Check that you are looking for the right person

The person who collects service charges or manages the building is not necessarily the freeholder.

A leasehold structure may involve:

• the registered freeholder;
• an intermediate landlord or head lessee;
• a management company named in the lease;
• a managing agent appointed by the freeholder;
• a residents’ management company; or
• leaseholders who collectively own the freehold through a company.

Begin with the lease. It should identify the original landlord and the parties responsible for management, insurance, repairs and enforcement. Supplemental deeds and later notices may show that the freehold or management functions were subsequently transferred.

Obtain the freehold title from HM Land Registry

The most obvious starting point is the registered freehold title.

The government’s HM Land Registry property information service allows users to obtain a title register and title plan for registered land in England and Wales. The register normally identifies the registered proprietor and gives an address or addresses for service.

Check:

• the name of the registered proprietor;
• every address for service appearing in the register;
• whether the proprietor is an individual or company;
• the date on which the proprietor was registered;
• whether any restrictions or notices identify another interested party; and
• whether the register refers to a transfer, conveyance or other filed document that may contain further details.

The registered address may be old, but it still provides a starting point. Correspondence can be sent to each available address using a method that produces evidence of dispatch and, where possible, delivery.

An online copy is useful for an initial investigation, but it is not proof of ownership. HM Land Registry explains that an official copy is required where the document is to be used as evidence, including in court proceedings.

What if the freehold title cannot be found?

Not all freehold land is registered. A search against the postal address may also fail where the building, parking areas and surrounding land sit within a larger title under a different description.

A conveyancer can consider:

• searching by map rather than postal address;
• examining the lease for the freehold title number;
• checking historical conveyances and epitomes of title;
• obtaining the leasehold title and reviewing referred documents;
• making an index map search where appropriate; and
• investigating whether the freehold remains unregistered.

The absence of an obvious online search result does not establish that the freeholder is legally missing.

Search Companies House if the freeholder is a company

If the registered proprietor is a company, search the Companies House register.

The register may provide:

• the company’s registered office;
• its current status;
• the names of current and former directors;
• filing history;
• previous company names;
• insolvency information; and
• details showing whether the company has been dissolved.

Write to the registered office and consider whether the directors, company secretary, insolvency practitioner or accountants identified in the records can assist.

A dissolved freehold company creates a different legal problem. Its property may have passed to the Crown or another recipient as bona vacantia. The company should not simply be treated as an ordinary missing freeholder. Specialist advice may be required about restoration, disclaimer and the present ownership of the freehold.

Check old demands and payment records

Ground rent and service charge records may reveal more current information than the registered title.

Look for:

• ground rent demands;
• service charge statements;
• receipts;
• buildings insurance schedules;
• notices served under the lease;
• letters granting consent to alterations or subletting;
• bank details used for previous payments;
• email addresses and telephone numbers; and
• the details of solicitors, accountants or managing agents acting for the landlord.

Do not assume that someone demanding payment is entitled to receive it. A person claiming to be a new freeholder should be asked to establish their identity and authority. Your conveyancer can check whether the freehold title has changed and whether any statutory notice of assignment should have been given.

Ask the managing agent and other leaseholders

A managing agent may still hold contact details for the freeholder even if it no longer manages the building. Previous agents, insurance brokers and contractors may also have useful records, although data protection obligations may limit what they can disclose.

Other leaseholders may have:

• more recent correspondence;
• a different address for the landlord;
• details of a former agent;
• records of previous consents or lease extensions;
• information about the freeholder’s death or relocation; or
• contact with a relative, director or successor.

If there is a residents’ association or management company, inspect its records and ask whether formal notices have previously been served on the landlord.

Investigate whether an individual freeholder has died

If there is evidence that an individual freeholder has died, the freehold may now be controlled by personal representatives or beneficiaries.

A search of the probate records for England and Wales may identify a grant of probate or letters of administration. These documents can identify the people authorised to administer the estate.

The absence of a grant does not prove that the freeholder is alive or that no estate exists. Names, dates and addresses should be checked carefully because several people may share similar details.

Where the estate has not been administered, or the freehold was never transferred out of the deceased owner’s name, specialist legal advice will be needed.

Use a professional tracing agent

If the documentary searches do not locate the freeholder, a professional enquiry or tracing agent may be appropriate.

The agent may examine:

• electoral and address records;
• company and directorship records;
• probate and death records;
• credit reference address links where lawfully available;
• telephone and business directories;
• insolvency records;
• overseas address information; and
• connections with relatives, professional advisers or associated companies.

If a court application may follow, instruct an agent capable of producing a clear witness statement or tracing report. The report should explain the sources checked, enquiries made, dates of searches and conclusions reached. A short statement that the freeholder “could not be found” may not demonstrate that reasonable attempts were made.

Keep an evidence file of every tracing step

Finding the freeholder is not the only possible outcome. It may instead become necessary to prove that the freeholder cannot be found despite reasonable efforts.

Keep:

• current and historical title documents;
• copies of the lease and supplemental deeds;
• Companies House results;
• probate searches;
• letters sent to every known address;
• proof of posting and delivery results;
• returned envelopes;
• emails and telephone attendance notes;
• responses from managing agents and other leaseholders;
• the tracing agent’s report; and
• a chronology recording each step taken.

The evidence required will depend on the legal procedure being pursued. Your solicitor should determine the search scope rather than relying on a generic checklist.

What if the freeholder still cannot be found?

A missing landlord does not necessarily prevent every leasehold transaction permanently.

For example, a qualifying leaseholder seeking a statutory lease extension may be able to apply to the county court for a vesting order under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993. The court will need to be satisfied that the landlord cannot be found despite reasonable efforts. The premium will normally need to be determined through the relevant tribunal process.

The Leasehold Advisory Service guidance on special lease extension situations explains the broad route where a landlord is missing. Different procedures and statutory provisions may apply to buying the freehold of a leasehold house, collective enfranchisement or other applications.

A vesting order is not a general court order that creates a permanently active landlord for every purpose. The objective and statutory route must be identified precisely.

Can a missing freeholder delay a sale?

Yes. A buyer and mortgage lender may expect information or evidence that would ordinarily come from the landlord or managing agent, including:

• replies to leasehold enquiries;
• buildings insurance documentation;
• ground rent and service charge statements;
• receipts confirming payments are up to date;
• information about planned major works;
• consent to alterations or subletting;
• a deed of covenant or notice procedure; and
• evidence that the building is being properly maintained.

An indemnity policy may address a defined financial risk, but it cannot manufacture missing management information or ensure that the roof and structure will be repaired. The buyer’s lender may have its own requirements, which should be checked rather than assumed.

The Lexsure Lender Archive’s absentee freeholder page explains why lender requirements and the date of the original transaction may matter when an absent landlord problem is investigated.

Was the freeholder already missing when you bought?

A freeholder can disappear after a purchase, so the present problem does not automatically mean that anything went wrong during the original conveyancing.

However, the purchase file may show that the landlord was already absent or difficult to trace. Relevant documents include:

• the freehold title and registered address used at the time;
• replies to leasehold enquiries;
• ground rent and service charge receipts;
• buildings insurance evidence;
• communications with the landlord or managing agent;
• any absent landlord indemnity policy;
• correspondence with the mortgage lender; and
• the Report on Title provided before exchange.

Our earlier article Absent Freeholder: A Blessing or a Problem? explains why the apparent short term advantages of an inactive landlord can conceal difficulties with repairs, insurance, consents, lease extensions and future mortgageability.

Start with the purpose of the search

The correct tracing exercise depends on what you are trying to achieve. A seller needing a management pack, a leaseholder seeking consent and an owner applying for a statutory lease extension may require different evidence and procedures.

Start early, obtain the lease and freehold title, establish the precise identity of the landlord and preserve evidence of every enquiry. If the freeholder cannot be located, a properly documented search may become essential to the next legal step.