Experts for Leasehold Conveyancing in Battlesbridge

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Leasehold conveyancing in Battlesbridge is more complex than freehold. Your home move will be smoother where you choose a lawyer with a wealth of experience of leasehold conveyancing in Battlesbridge and across next step up in loc. The lawyers we recommend have been approved by your lender so use our search tool to check.

Recently asked questions relating to Battlesbridge leasehold conveyancing

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Battlesbridge. Before I get started I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Battlesbridge - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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.

Jane (my partner) and I may need to let out our Battlesbridge ground floor flat temporarily due to a new job. We instructed a Battlesbridge conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Battlesbridge conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the premises. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you must seek consent via your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet without prior permission. Such consent should not be unreasonably withheld. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years remaining on my lease in Battlesbridge. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to locate the landlord. On the whole a specialist should be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Battlesbridge.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Battlesbridge from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Battlesbridge can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers conveyancers.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Battlesbridge state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. If you fail to have the consents in place do not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in advance.
  • A minority of Battlesbridge leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as over rather than unsettled.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should verify this by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £450000 garden flat in Battlesbridge next Tuesday . The managing agents has quoted £360 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Battlesbridge?

    Battlesbridge conveyancing on leasehold flats often involves the buyer’s solicitor sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer these enquiries most will be content to assist. They may charge a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it is in excess of £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that one has no choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to complete the sale of your home.

    Leasehold Conveyancing in Battlesbridge - Examples of Questions you should consider before buying

      Many Battlesbridge leasehold flats will be liable to pay a service charge for maintenance of the block invoiced on behalf of the management company. Where you buy the property you will have to meet this amount, normally quarterly throughout the year. This can be anything from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built blocks. In all probability there will be a ground rent to be met yearly, ordinarily this is not a large sum, say about £50-£100 but you should to check as sometimes it could be many hundreds of pounds. Best to be warned if window replacement or some other major work is pending that will be shared by the leasehold owners and could well materially increase the the maintenance charges or require a one off invoice. In the main the cost for major works tend not to be incorporated into the service charges, albeit that there some managing agents in Battlesbridge obliged tenants to contribute towards a reserve fund and this is used to offset against larger works.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Battlesbridge