Our conveyancer has identified a a problem with the lease for the apartment we are buying in Mynydd Isa. The seller’s lawyers have offered defective title insurance as a workaround. We are happy with insurance and will cover the costs. Our property lawyer has advised that he must check that the mortgage company is happy with this solution. Who is the client here, us or the bank?

The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the potential for a conflict of interest, you and the mortgage company are the client. Your lawyer must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects with the lease so that the lender can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your conveyancing practitioner will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.

I am the registered owner of a freehold house in Mynydd Isa but nevertheless invoiced for rent, why is this and what is this?

It’s unusual for properties in Mynydd Isa and has limited impact for conveyancing in Mynydd Isa but some freehold properties in England (particularly common in North West England) pay an annual sum known as a Chief Rent or a Rentcharge to a third party who has no other legal interest in the land.

Rentcharge payments are usually between £2.00 and £5.00 per year. Rentcharges date back many centuries, but the Rent Charge Act 1977 barred the generation of new rentcharges post 1977.

Previous rentcharges can now be redeemed by making a lump sum payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence post 2037 is to be extinguished.

Should my lawyer be raising enquiries about flooding as part of the conveyancing in Mynydd Isa.

The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for lawyers specialising in conveyancing in Mynydd Isa. There are those who acquire a property in Mynydd Isa, completely aware that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, leaving to one side the physical destruction, where a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, adequate insurance cover, or sell the premises. Steps can be carried out as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the purchaser.

Solicitors are not qualified to give advice on flood risk, but there are a number of checks that may be carried out by the purchaser or by their conveyancers which should figure out the risks in Mynydd Isa. The standard information supplied to a purchaser’s conveyancer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) incorporates a usual inquiry of the seller to discover if the premises has ever been flooded. In the event that the premises has been flooded in past and is not revealed by the vendor, then a buyer could commence a legal claim for losses as a result of such an incorrect answer. The buyer’s conveyancers will also order an environmental report. This should reveal whether there is a recorded flood risk. If so, additional inquiries will need to be initiated.

I used Stirling Law several years ago for my conveyancing in Mynydd Isa. I now require my file but the law firm is no longer operating. What do I do?

You should contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Mynydd Isa of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously hired, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a property I put an offer in last month in what was supposed to be a quick, no chain conveyancing. Mynydd Isa is where the house is located. What do you suggest?

Flying freeholds in Mynydd Isa are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Mynydd Isa you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds diligently. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Mynydd Isa may ascertain that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold residence.