Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Little Hulton:

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Recently asked questions relating to Little Hulton leasehold conveyancing

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Little Hulton. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

If the lease is registered - and most are in Little Hulton - 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.

Helen (my wife) and I may need to sub-let our Little Hulton 1st floor flat for a while due to a new job. We used a Little Hulton conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

A lease dictates relations between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will indicate if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. The majority of leases in Little Hulton do not contain strict prohibition on subletting – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the property. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a copy of the sublease.

I own a leasehold house in Little Hulton. Conveyancing and Chelsea Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing solicitor in Little Hulton who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Little Hulton conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am employed by a reputable estate agent office in Little Hulton where we see a number of flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Little Hulton conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the buyer?

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 buyer 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 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 buyer.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Little Hulton from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Little Hulton can be reduced if you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers lawyers.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Little Hulton leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord approving such alterations. Should you fail to have the consents to hand do not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in the first instance.
  • A minority of Little Hulton 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 put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Arranging a new share certificate can be a time consuming process and slows down many a Little Hulton home move. Where a new share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable double-check via your lawyers. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • Little Hulton Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries before buying

      Are any of leasehold owners in arrears of their service charge payments? How long is the Lease? This information is useful as a) areas could result in problems in the building as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate where repairs remain unpaid b) if the leaseholders have a dispute with the managing agents you will want to know about it

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Little Hulton