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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Harlow, you will need to chose a conveyancing practitioner with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Lloyds, Birmingham Midshires or Nationwide be sure to find a lawyer on their panel. Feel free to use our search tool

Sample questions relating to Harlow leasehold conveyancing

I want to rent out my leasehold apartment in Harlow. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?

Your lease governs the relationship between the landlord and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will indicate if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Harlow do not prevent strict prohibition on subletting – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the flat. In most cases there is a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

There are only Sixty One years left on my lease in Harlow. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. 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. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent should be useful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Harlow.

Due to sign contracts shortly on a basement flat in Harlow. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they are sending me a report tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

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

  • The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and aware of the importance of the 80 year mark
  • You need to be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • 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.
  • What you can do if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Harlow please enquire of your lawyer in advance of your conveyancing in Harlow

    • I am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in Harlow where we have experienced a number of flat sales put at risk due to short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Harlow conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

    As long as the seller has been the owner 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 wait 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 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.

    Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Harlow with the purpose of expediting the sale process?

    • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Harlow can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
    • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Harlow state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. Should you fail to have the paperwork in place you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in the first instance.
  • Some Harlow leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (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 lawyers.
  • If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous 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 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 are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over rather than ongoing.
  • If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share document. Obtaining a replacement share certificate can be a time consuming formality and slows down many a Harlow conveyancing deal. Where a new share certificate is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

    • Harlow Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries Prior to buying

      Does the lease have onerous restrictions? Does the lease have more than 80 years left? Its a good idea to discover as much as possible regarding the company managing the building as they will either make your life much simpler or a lot more difficult. As the owner of a leasehold property you are often in the clutches of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to practical matters like the upkeep of the common parts. Ask other tenants what they think of their management. In conclusion, investigate as to the dates that the maintenance fees are due to the managing agents and specifically how they are spending that money.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Harlow