Bound by CovenantI think all conveyancers are extremely aware now of the necessity for ensuring that leases of residential flats contain the usual enforcement covenant on the part of the lessor or management company and insist on deeds of variation where leases do not include this.Worthing is an area with countless leasehold flats and I regularly see leases, some which date back to the early 1960s.

Increasingly the insurance covenants in these leases present problems.

Often they refer to insurance against fire only, or they lack reference to the correct insurable level or any level at all - and commonly they provide that if the premises are damaged or destroyed by fire, policy monies will be laid out in reinstatement, but do not refer to damage or destruction by any other risk.Sellers' solicitors know that they have to bite the bullet on enforcement covenants and agree to deeds of variation at the sellers' cost in almost all cases, but I find a much greater reluctance to agree over defective insurance covenants.

It is often pointed out that the premises are perfectly adequately insured by a competent professional landlord, but I really cannot see that this has any relevance if the covenant is defective.

Indemnity insurance is one answer, although far from a perfect one and in my view sellers' and lessors' solicitors should be more constructive.

We also have to face the problems of terms that have become shorter and shorter and eventually unacceptable and we do find cases where each flat covenants to insure individually and we must obtain details of the insurance policy for each flat.I suspect that on most leasehold purchases my recorded time is more than double what it should be and my costs are hopelessly inadequate.Terence Griffin, Bennett Griffin & Partners, Worthing, West Sussex