Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Christchurch:

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Any conveyancing practice can theoretically deal with your leasehold conveyancing in Christchurch, your mortgage provider may unwilling to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Christchurch leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

My wife and I may need to let out our Christchurch 1st floor flat for a while due to a new job. We instructed a Christchurch conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Christchurch conveyancing solicitor is not available you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the property. The rule is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to seek permission from your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior permission. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease prohibits you from letting out the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

Planning to complete next month on a leasehold property in Christchurch. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they report fully tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Christchurch should include some of the following:

  • You should receive a copy of the lease
  • Setting out your legal entitlements in relation to the communal areas in the block.For instance, does the lease include a right of way over a path or hallways?
  • Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Christchurch please enquire of your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Christchurch

    • Back In 2000, I bought a leasehold house in Christchurch. Conveyancing and Barclays mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing solicitor in Christchurch who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

    The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Christchurch conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

    I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Christchurch where we see a few flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Christchurch conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

    Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

    An alternative approach is 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 buyer.

    Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Christchurch with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Christchurch can be avoided where you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
    • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Christchurch leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord approving such changes. Where you dont have the approvals in place do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your lawyer in the first instance.
  • Some Christchurch leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should 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 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 purchasers 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 before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to 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 ahead of 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 rather than unresolved.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check by asking your solicitors. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is less than 75 years. It is therefore 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.

    • I own a split level flat in Christchurch, conveyancing having been completed in 1995. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Corresponding properties in Christchurch with an extended lease are worth £231,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 invoiced every year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2080

    With only 55 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £26,600 and £30,800 plus costs.

    The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Christchurch