How to lease a gargae

[user1480444895]

First time here and hoping one of you clever people can advise me.

My neighbour has 4 garages. She uses 2, 1 is leased to a neighbour on a peppercorn rent for 999 years and we have a verbal agreement that I may use the other for garden stuff etc.

I would like to get a secure lease (like my neighbour has) on the garage I currently use and I believe I could get the owner's agreement to this. Obviously, to achieve this shouldn't cost her anything and I would do all the legwork and cover costs.

I guess this is a property transfer or something, similar to, but less complicated, than buying a house. Am I wrong? How complicated is it? Is it a DIY project or do I need to srrender my soul and savings to a solicitor? If so, how much would it likely cost me?

All help gratefully received.

NT

[wowfudge]

What you are looking for then is a low cost way of ensuring you have long-term use of the garage?

A transfer would imply you purchasing the garage, though your neighbour may be receptive to that. You'd have to reach an agreement on the sale price.

The other neighbour paying a peppercorn rent sounds a bit odd to me - does this person actually pay a ground rent or rentcharge to the "owner"? Peppercorn rents are usually a sign of a long-standing, old agreement of some sort. I can't imagine a property owner today entering into a lease for a peppercorn rent. Who is responsible for the maintenance of the leased garage; do you know?

A more simple way of dealing with things would be to enter into a licence agreement for you to use the garage - you wouldn't need a lawyer for it either, although it may be sensible to get a standard licence agreement from a lawyer to start with. This would set out what the rent was and the notice periods either party has to give to terminate the agreement.

Unless the owner of the garages has given you info regarding the other rent arrangement, I would be wary of mentioning it in relation to your own negotiations.

[user1480444895]

Thanks for that, Wowfudge. You have summed up the situation MUCH better than I. What I had failed to recognise is that to take a lease I would actually have to buy the garage and I suspect that might not be so acceptable to the current owner.

Is there some sort of licence which would give me security of tenure even if the property changed hands?

Thanks.

[wowfudge]

If you have a lease you are buying the right to use the garage for the lease period, be it 5 years, 10 years or 999. You never own it. Obviously the longer the lease term, the more it is, in practice, like owning it. Very long term leases can give the lessee the right to buy the freehold.

If you have a lease then if the ownership of the garage changes hands, your lease would normally still stand and you would just pay rent to the new owner.

A licence has the least amount of security and is typically shorter term. It would be typical to have a 12 month licence and renew it every year.

Ask the owner if they would consider a different arrangement with you and take it from there.

[user1480444895]

Thanks again Wowfudge for such a prompt reply and for helping clarify the detail of a lease. I shall speak to the owner and see if I can persuade her.

I shall post again if I'm successful!