@Evecob Hi Eve! Thanks for your message. I am surprised this has only just come up if you were due to exchange on 28th why has this not been dealt with right at the outset of the transaction. (That's what I would first ask your solicitor).
The person/company who has the benefit of
The rent charge can remove it at the land registry but it does take time and what with delays at the land reg at the moment I would expect it to take weeks if not months.
The rent charge will only need to be removed if your lender requires it. Even if the developer has advised that they are not going to collect the rent charge the law is that rent charges can be collected at any time and be backdated for example, if in 10 years time the person who benefits from the rent charge decides they want paying for it they can claim back from when the property was built so for you as a buyer it is risky and it may also make the pool of potential buyers smaller when you come to sell the property at a later stage.
Indemnity insurance could possibly be an option but I do not think an indemnity insurer would indemnify the rent charge with it being so new, they are usually happy to indemnify against historical rent charges that haven't been collected over many many years but again if your solicitor manages to find an insurer to indemnify the charge then they will just need to obtain your lenders consent to the indemnity policy, It really is down to the lender.
It is definitely a sticky situation but one that needs dealing with as a matter of urgency due to the possible timescales at the land registry so I would in the first instance ask your solicitor if they have referred the rent charge to Your lender and if so what is their stance, secondly is there indemnity insurance available from an insurer anyway?
If a developer agrees to remove the rent charge then your solicitor can do so with the appropriate signed documentation from them but as you are buying it would usually come from the sellers solicitors. The builder may need separate representation possibly and I would expect your solicitor to charge extra too for removal of the charge.
In order to facilitate exchange at this stage your solicitor may be able to get all the signed required documentation ASAP from the sellers solicitors and remove the rent charge at the same time as when they register you as the new owners at the land registry post completion to prevent any delay in exchange and completion but again this would need to be confirmed and agreed by your lender.
I do hope that you manage to get it sorted because rent charges can be headache and as you say, a lengthy process.
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