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Top Five Questions relating to Iver leasehold conveyancing

My partner and I may need to let out our Iver garden flat for a while due to a new job. We instructed a Iver conveyancing firm in 2002 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Iver conveyancing solicitor is no longer around you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the premises. The accepted inference is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to seek consent from your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining permission. The consent should not be unreasonably turned down. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Expecting to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Iver. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they report fully on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

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

  • 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 property itself but could also include a loft or cellar if applicable.
  • Will you be prohibited or prevented from having pets in the property?
  • Does the lease prevent you from subletting the property, or working from home
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Iver please ask your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Iver

    • I work for a reputable estate agent office in Iver where we have experienced a few flat sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Iver conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. 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 disposal of the property.

    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 buyer.

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

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Iver can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers solicitors.
    • The majority landlords or managing agents in Iver levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Iver.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Iver leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord approving such changes. Where you fail to have the paperwork to hand do not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer first.
  • A minority of Iver leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where a dispute is ongoing. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of 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 better to reveal the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.

    • After years of negotiations we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Iver. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

    Where there is a missing freeholder or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to arrive at the amount due.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Iver premises 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 was in relation to 2 flats. The unexpired lease term was 69 years.

    What makes a Iver lease unmortgageable?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Iver is not unique. All leases are individual and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain provisions are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
    • A duty to insure the building
    • A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
    • Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

    You may encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Barclays , Chelsea Building Society, and Bank of Ireland all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to pull out.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Iver