Guaranteed fixed fees for Leasehold Conveyancing in Barking

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Barking, you will need to appoint a conveyancing solicitor with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Clydesdale , Yorkshire Building Society or Nationwide be sure to find a lawyer on their panel. Find a Barking conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Barking leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

Jane (my partner) and I may need to sub-let our Barking garden flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Barking conveyancing practice in 2001 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Barking conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the property. The rule is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you need to obtain permission from your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining permission. Such consent must not not be unreasonably withheld. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

Expecting to complete next month on a basement flat in Barking. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they will have a report out to me within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

  • How long the lease is You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and informed of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
  • Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?
  • Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?
  • Whether the lease restricts you from letting out the flat, or working from home
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
  • The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Barking please enquire of your lawyer in advance of your conveyancing in Barking

    • Back In 2000, I bought a leasehold house in Barking. Conveyancing and The Royal Bank of Scotland mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in Barking who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

    First make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Barking conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

    I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Barking. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before 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. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part 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).

    Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Barking with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Barking can be reduced where you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
    • If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Barking leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord approving such alterations. Where you fail to have the paperwork to hand do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor in advance.
  • Some Barking leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. 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. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 solicitors.
  • If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Organising a new share certificate is often a lengthy formality and frustrates many a Barking conveyancing deal. If a new share is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this via your solicitors. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is under 80 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • We have reached the end of our tether in negotiating a lease extension in Barking. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

    in cases where there is a missing landlord or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to make a decision on the amount due.

    An example of a Lease Extension case for a Barking flat is 240 Strone Road in January 2014. the tribunal held that the price to be paid for the freehold interest was£23,538 of which£13,017 is attributable to the ground floor flat and £10,521 to the first floor flat. This case affected 2 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 65.5 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Barking