I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Denham. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Denham - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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 wish to rent out my leasehold flat in Denham. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

Your lease dictates relations between the freeholder and you the flat owner; in particular, it will set out if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Denham do not prevent strict prohibition on subletting – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the property. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement apartment in Denham.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a half-yearly service charge demand – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is discharge the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Denham. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

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. However, 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).

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Denham from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Denham can be reduced if you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
• The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Denham levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Denham.
• Some Denham leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 lawyers.
• If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where a dispute is unsettled. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over rather than ongoing.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Obtaining a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming formality and delays many a Denham conveyancing transaction. Where a new share is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

Having spent months of correspondence we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Denham. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

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

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Denham flat 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 unexpired term was 71 years.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Denham - Examples of Queries before Purchasing

If a Denham lease has fewer than eighty years it will impact the value of the flat. Check with your bank that they are happy with the length of the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease at some point and you need to have some idea of what this would cost. Remember, in most cases you would be be obliged to have owned the premises for a couple of years in order to be entitled to carry out a lease extension. The prefered form of lease structure is where the freehold interest is owned by the leaseholders. In this arrangement the tenants enjoy control and although a managing agent is usually retained where the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves.