Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Copse Hill:

Get a Quote

Leasehold conveyancing in Copse Hill 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 Copse Hill and across next step up in loc. The lawyers we recommend have been approved by your lender so use our search tool to check.

Questions and Answers: Copse Hill leasehold conveyancing

There are only 68 years unexpired on my lease in Copse Hill. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What are my options?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to locate the lessor. For most situations a specialist should be useful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document to be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Copse Hill.

Planning to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Copse Hill. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they are sending me a report on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

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

  • The total extent of the property. This will be the flat itself but might include a loft or cellar if appropriate.
  • Are pets allowed in the flat?
  • You should be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
  • An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
  • Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
  • The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide. For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Copse Hill please enquire of your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Copse Hill

    • I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Copse Hill. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

    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 ensure 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 busy estate agency in Copse Hill where we see a few flat sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Copse Hill conveyancing firms. Can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

    Provided that the seller has been the owner 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. This means that the buyer need not have 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 prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

    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 purchaser.

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

    If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Copse Hill conveyancing practice) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you talk with several firms including non Copse Hill conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be of use:

    • How many lease extensions has the firm carried out in Copse Hill in the last twenty four months?
  • Can they put you in touch with client in Copse Hill who can give a testimonial?

    • Having spent months of dialogue we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Copse Hill. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

    Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a Copse Hill conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Copse Hill premises is 83 Balvernie Grove in February 2012. The Tribunal assessed the price to be paid by the leaseholder to the freeholder for the lease extension pursuant to section 48 of the Leasehold Reform Housing & Urban Development Act 1993 should be£16,603.00 This case related to 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 69.32 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Copse Hill