Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Danbury. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Danbury - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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 am attracted to a couple of apartments in Danbury both have in the region of fifty years remaining on the leases. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As a lease gets shorter the value of the lease reduces and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Danbury where we see a few flat sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Danbury conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease 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 proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Danbury with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Danbury can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers lawyers.
• Many freeholders or Management Companies in Danbury levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Danbury.

In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Danbury leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. If you dont have the approvals to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your lawyer in the first instance.

If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property 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 ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.

If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate is often a lengthy process and slows down many a Danbury conveyancing deal. Where a reissued share is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £300000 garden flat in Danbury next Thursday . The landlords agents has quoted £312 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Danbury?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Danbury conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Answering pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Danbury
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Danbury leasehold premises is £350. For Danbury conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to supply answers.

I bought a garden flat in Danbury, conveyancing was carried out 7 years ago. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Similar flats in Danbury with an extended lease are worth £175,000. The ground rent is £60 per annum. The lease expires on 21st October 2081

With 56 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £23,800 and £27,400 plus costs.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Danbury