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Leasehold conveyancing in Aldgate 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 Aldgate 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 Aldgate leasehold conveyancing

Planning to complete next month on a studio apartment in Aldgate. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they report fully tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Aldgate should include some of the following:

  • You should be sent a copy of the lease
  • The total extent of the premises. This will be the apartment itself but could also include a loft or cellar if appropriate.
  • 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
  • I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
  • The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?
  • What options are open to you if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Aldgate please ask your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Aldgate

    • I am attracted to a two apartments in Aldgate which have about 50 years left on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

    A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As a lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is generally wise to extend the lease term. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

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

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Aldgate can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
    • Some Aldgate leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (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 buyers or their solicitors.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. 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 reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Arranging a new share certificate is often a lengthy formality and slows down many a Aldgate home move. Where a new share certificate is needed, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible.
  • 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 solicitors. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is below 75 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £300000 apartment in Aldgate next Friday . The landlords agents has quoted £372 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Aldgate?

    Aldgate conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally necessitates the buyer’s conveyancer sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer these enquiries most will be willing to assist. They are entitled invoice a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it is above £800. The administration charge invoiced by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the charge is technically not due. Reality however dictates that one has little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

    I own a basement flat in Aldgate. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the premium due for a lease extension?

    if there is a missing freeholder or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the LVT to decide the amount due.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Aldgate premises is 1-41 Royal Tower Lodge 40 Cartwright Street in April 2013. the tribunal adding the agreed value of capitalised ground rents and the reversion the price to be paid for the freehold was £1,187,000 This case was in relation to 41 flats. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 107 years.

    What makes a Aldgate lease unmortgageable?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Aldgate. All leases are individual and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
    • A duty to insure the building
    • Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
    • Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

    A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Lloyds TSB Bank, Chelsea Building Society, and Aldermore all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to pull out.