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Acocks Green leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Acocks Green. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is registered - and almost all are in Acocks Green - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

Helen (my wife) and I may need to sub-let our Acocks Green 1st floor flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Acocks Green conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Your lease dictates relations between the landlord and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will indicate if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. The majority of leases in Acocks Green do not contain subletting altogether – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the property. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Acocks Green both have in the region of 50 years left on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As the lease shortens the marketability of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Acocks Green. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Acocks Green with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

  • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Acocks Green can be reduced where you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers representatives.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Acocks Green leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such changes. Where you fail to have the paperwork in place do not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in the first instance.
  • Some Acocks Green leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is unresolved. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over rather than unresolved.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Arranging a replacement share certificate is often a time consuming process and slows down many a Acocks Green conveyancing transaction. If a reissued share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible.

    • I invested in buying a studio flat in Acocks Green, conveyancing was carried out 6 years ago. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Corresponding flats in Acocks Green with a long lease are worth £254,000. The ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2091

    You have 66 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £14,300 and £16,400 plus costs.

    The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Acocks Green