I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Campden Hill. Before I get started I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Campden Hill - 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.

I own a leasehold house in Campden Hill. Conveyancing and Aldermore mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing solicitor in Campden Hill who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Campden Hill conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. 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 attracted to a two flats in Campden Hill which have about fifty years left on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Campden Hill is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the value of the premises. The majority of buyers and banks, leases with less than eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Campden Hill conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Campden Hill conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Campden Hill conveyancing practice) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you speak with two or three firms including non Campden Hill conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £275000 flat in Campden Hill in just under a week. The freeholder has quoted £324 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Campden Hill?

Campden Hill conveyancing on leasehold flats usually requires the purchaser’s lawyer submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to these enquiries the majority will be willing to do so. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it is in excess of £800. The management information fee invoiced by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of rights and obligations in relation to administration charges, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality you have little option but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to sell the property.

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

Most definitely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Campden Hill conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Campden Hill flat is 93 Oakwood Court in June 2010. the LVT determined that the premium to be paid for the new lease was £492,083, This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 37.79 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Campden Hill