Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Leyland:

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Frequently asked questions relating to Leyland leasehold conveyancing

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

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Leyland - 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.

Frank (my husband) and I may need to let out our Leyland 1st floor flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Leyland conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

A lease governs relations between the landlord and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will say if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. The majority of leases in Leyland do not prevent subletting altogether – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the flat. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the sublease.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Leyland. Conveyancing and Barnsley Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing practitioner in Leyland who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Leyland conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, 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 house in Leyland. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

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).

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Leyland from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

  • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Leyland can be reduced where you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Leyland leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such alterations. If you fail to have the paperwork in place you should not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor before hand.
  • Some Leyland leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and 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 will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, 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 certificate. Arranging a duplicate share certificate is often a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Leyland home move. If a reissued share certificate is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

    • I invested in buying a studio flat in Leyland, conveyancing having been completed 7 years ago. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Similar properties in Leyland with an extended lease are worth £215,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 per annum. The lease terminates on 21st October 2073

    With just 52 years unexpired the likely cost is going to be between £38,000 and £44,000 plus professional fees.

    The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Leyland