Experts for Leasehold Conveyancing in Little Venice

Leasehold conveyancing in Little Venice is more complex than freehold. Your home move will be smoother where you choose a lawyer with a wealth of experience of leasehold conveyancing in Little Venice and across next step up in loc. The lawyers we recommend have been approved by your lender so use our search tool to check.

Recently asked questions relating to Little Venice leasehold conveyancing

My partner and I may need to rent out our Little Venice garden flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Little Venice conveyancing practice in 2001 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Little Venice conveyancing solicitor is not around you can review your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the premises. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to obtain permission from your landlord or some other party before subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of first obtaining consent. The consent must not not be unreasonably turned down. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Fifty years unexpired on my lease in Little Venice. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to locate the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent would be helpful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document to be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Little Venice.

I am looking at a two apartments in Little Venice which have about fifty years unexpired on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As a lease shortens the marketability of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a Little Venice conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Little Venice conveyancing firm) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Little Venice conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be useful:

  • How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?
  • What are the legal fees for lease extension work?

  • Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Little Venice with the aim of expediting the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Little Venice can be reduced where you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
    • The majority freeholders or managing agents in Little Venice levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Little Venice.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Little Venice state that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. If you dont have the approvals in place you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor in the first instance.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge 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 prior to 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 as opposed to unresolved.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is below 80 years. It is therefore 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 premises on the market for sale.

  • I bought a garden flat in Little Venice, conveyancing having been completed 7 years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Equivalent flats in Little Venice with over 90 years remaining are worth £265,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 per annum. The lease expires on 21st October 2100

    With just 75 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to be between £11,400 and £13,200 plus legals.

    The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Little Venice