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

Questions and Answers: Hornsea leasehold conveyancing

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Hornsea. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and most are in Hornsea - 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.

Due to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in Hornsea. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they will have a report out to me within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Hornsea should include some of the following:

  • You should be sent a copy of the lease
  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
  • The physical extent of the premises. This will be the flat itself but could also include a loft or cellar if appropriate.
  • Whether the lease restricts you from subletting the property, or working from home
  • 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
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Hornsea please enquire of your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Hornsea

    • I own a leasehold house in Hornsea. Conveyancing and Santander mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in Hornsea who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

    First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Hornsea conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. 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.

    Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Hornsea. 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. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part 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).

    I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Hornsea where we see a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Hornsea conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

    Provided that 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 sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed 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.

    I inherited a garden flat in Hornsea, conveyancing having been completed 3 years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Equivalent properties in Hornsea with over 90 years remaining are worth £198,000. The ground rent is £45 per annum. The lease finishes on 21st October 2082

    With 57 years left to run the likely cost is going to range between £25,700 and £29,600 plus costs.

    The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

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    Lease Extensions in Hornsea