Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Ashtead:

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Ashtead leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

I have recently realised that I have Sixty One years left on my lease in Ashtead. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent may be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document which can be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Ashtead.

I own a leasehold house in Ashtead. Conveyancing and TSB mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing solicitor in Ashtead who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

First contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Ashtead conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Ashtead which have about 50 years unexpired on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We recommend you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

I am employed by a reputable estate agency in Ashtead where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Ashtead conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Ashtead with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Ashtead can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers representatives.
  • The majority landlords or managing agents in Ashtead charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Ashtead.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Ashtead state that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such changes. Should you fail to have the approvals in place do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer first.
  • A minority of Ashtead leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the yearly 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check via your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • Having spent years of negotiations we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Ashtead. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

    Most certainly. We can put you in touch with a Ashtead conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Ashtead premises is 33 The Maisonettes Alberta Avenue in June 2014. the Tribunal decided that the premium payable for the grant of a new lease be the sum of £20,680 (Twenty Thousand six hundred and eighty pounds). This case related to 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 60.43 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Ashtead