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Sample questions relating to Chalfont St Peter leasehold conveyancing

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two maisonettes in Chalfont St Peter which have approximately 50 years unexpired on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Chalfont St Peter. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a period of time. As a lease shortens the marketability of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is generally wise to extend the lease term. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies may be unwilling to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Chalfont St Peter. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

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. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure 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).

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Chalfont St Peter where we see a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Chalfont St Peter conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 buyer.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Chalfont St Peter conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Chalfont St Peter conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you talk with two or three firms including non Chalfont St Peter conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be helpful:

  • What volume of lease extensions has the firm conducted in Chalfont St Peter in the last year?
  • Can they put you in touch with client in Chalfont St Peter who can give a testimonial?

    • Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Chalfont St Peter with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Chalfont St Peter can be reduced if you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
    • Many freeholders or Management Companies in Chalfont St Peter charge for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out 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 typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Chalfont St Peter.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Chalfont St Peter state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. Should you fail to have the consents in place do not contact the landlord without checking with your lawyer in advance.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers 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 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 clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is less than 75 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • After months of negotiations we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Chalfont St Peter. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

    if there is a absentee landlord or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to arrive at the sum to be paid.

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Chalfont St Peter premises is Flats 8, 11 and 15 Craigmore Court 46 Murray Road in December 2013. The tribunal held that the price payable by the Applicant tenant of Flat 8 to acquire an extended lease shall be £26,438 plus £1 to the intermediate lessee . The tribunal held that the price payable by the Applicant tenants of Flat 11 to acquire an extended lease shall be £26,791 plus £1 to the intermediate lessee. The tribunal held that the price payable by the Applicant tenant of Flat 15 to acquire an extended lease shall be £26,638 plus £1 to the intermediate lessee . This case affected 3 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 71 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Chalfont St Peter