Leasehold Conveyancing in East London - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in East London, you will need to appoint a conveyancing practitioner with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Santander, Birmingham Midshires or Nationwide make sure you find a lawyer on their panel. Find a East London conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

East London leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in East London. Before I set the wheels in motion I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in East London - 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 own a leasehold house in East London. Conveyancing and Nottingham Building Society mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing practitioner in East London who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a East London conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in East London. 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. 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).

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a East London conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a East London conveyancing firm) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you talk with several firms including non East London conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be of use:

  • If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?
  • How many lease extensions have they completed in East London in the last twenty four months?

    • Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in East London with the aim of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in East London can be reduced where you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
    • If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? East London leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. If you dont have the consents in place do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor before hand.
  • A minority of East London leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet 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 buyers or their solicitors.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is unresolved. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge 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 details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as over rather than unsettled.
  • If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Arranging a new share certificate can be a time consuming formality and delays many a East London home move. If a new share is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

    • I am the proprietor of a ground floor flat in East London. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the amount payable for a lease extension?

    Where there is a missing landlord or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to decide the amount due.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a East London flat is 20 Avonwick Road in July 2013. The Tribunal was dealing with an application under Section 26 of the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 for a determination of the freehold value of the property. It was concluded that the price to be paid was Fifteen Thousand Nine Hundred and Seventy (£15,970) divided as to £8,200 for Flat 20 and £7,770 for Flat 20A This case related to 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 73.26 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in East London