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

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While any conveyancing solicitor can theoretically handle your leasehold conveyancing in Hayes, your mortgage provider may unwilling to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Top Five Questions relating to Hayes leasehold conveyancing

Planning to exchange soon on a studio apartment in Hayes. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they will have a report out to me on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

  • Defining your legal entitlements in relation to common areas in the block.For instance, does the lease grant a right of way over a path or staircase?
  • Does the lease prevent you from renting out the flat, or working from home
  • 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
  • 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.
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Hayes please ask your lawyer in advance of your conveyancing in Hayes

    • I've found a house that seems to be perfect, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have just discovered that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are issues purchasing a leasehold house in Hayes. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Hayes ?

    The majority of houses in Hayes are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Hayes in which case you should be looking for a Hayes conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a lessee you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions such as obtaining the landlord’spermission to conduct changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your solicitor should advise you fully on all the issues.

    I am attracted to a two apartments in Hayes which have about fifty years unexpired on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

    A lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the value of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more costly to extend the lease. This is why it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

    I am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in Hayes where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Hayes conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

    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. The benefit of this is 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 needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

    An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 Hayes from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Hayes can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
    • The majority landlords or Management Companies in Hayes charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Hayes.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Hayes leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord approving such alterations. If you fail to have the paperwork to hand do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in the first instance.
  • A minority of Hayes leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice 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 buyers or their solicitors.
  • If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. 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 particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.

    • I inherited a a ground floor purpose built flat in Hayes. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the premium payable for a lease extension?

    if there is a missing freeholder or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the LVT to calculate the sum to be paid.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Hayes property is 164 Nestles Avenue in October 2013. The tribunal agreed with the proposed price of £20,158 for the freehold and determined that that sum is the amount to be paid into court This case related to 2 flats. The unexpired lease term was 69 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Hayes