I’m selling my late parents house and one of the questions is about a rent charge
It’s a standard Victorian Terrace that has a back entrance via a gate with a lock - it’s a large bit of open land with a electricity substation with all the houses surrounding it on 3 sides and access for cars is only through this entrance on another street where the gate is .
There is an annual fee of £25 that you have to pay even if you don’t use it and if you want a key for the gate a £25 deposit
All the houses have this in the deeds as a covenant. When my parents bought in 1976 the annual fee was £12 and there was no gate so basically anyone could access any of the back of the houses
About 20 years ago a gate was fitted on the entrance and if residents wanted a key they paid a key deposit of £25
Luckily I was on the ball with this and renewed the licence and obtained a new key for the access via a gate so I have all the paperwork to give to my solicitors
However one of the enquiries has come back with the following
We note the rentcharge owner can take possession of the property for non-payment. In the circumstances we will require a Deed of Variation to exclude this provision and the provisions of Section 121 of the Law of Property Act 1925.
There is no way this would be removed from the deeds. all the houses pay the £25 fee and my late parents never had a problem with it
But now I’m worrying that this will hold up the sale
Is it possible they could hold the sale up trying to get this removed