I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Clapton. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part 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 work for a reputable estate agent office in Clapton where we have experienced a number of flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Clapton conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension process 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 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 wait 2 years to extend their lease. 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.

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.

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

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Clapton conveyancing firm) it is imperative 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 Clapton conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be of use:

• What volume of lease extensions has the firm conducted in Clapton in the last 12 months?
• Can they put you in touch with client in Clapton who can give a testimonial?

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Clapton from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Clapton can be avoided where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• Many landlords or Management Companies in Clapton charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Clapton.
• A minority of Clapton 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 obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
• If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. 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 better to present the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should ensure that you hold the original share document. Organising a replacement share certificate is often a lengthy formality and slows down many a Clapton conveyancing deal. Where a new share is needed, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible.

We expect to complete the sale of our £ 150000 maisonette in Clapton next week. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Clapton?

Clapton conveyancing on leasehold apartments more often than not requires the purchaser’s solicitor submitting enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address such questions the majority will be content to assist. They are entitled levy a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it is in excess of £800. The administration charge levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration charges, without which the invoice is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that you have little option but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to sell the property.

My wife and I have hit a brick wall in trying to reach an agreement for a lease extension in Clapton. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

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

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Clapton residence is 104 Nightingale Road in May 2009. The Tribunal's Decision is that the premium torbe paid for the enfranchisement in this case is £112,174 This case affected 10 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 71.25 years.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Clapton - Examples of Queries before Purchasing

Who are the managing agents? It is important to be aware whether window replacement or some other significant cost is due shortly that will be shared amongst the leaseholders and could well dramatically impact the level of the service costs or result in a specific invoice.