Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Barnes:

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Leasehold conveyancing in Barnes 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 Barnes and throughout next step up in loc. The lawyers we recommend have been approved by your lender so use our search tool to check.

Common questions relating to Barnes leasehold conveyancing

I am intending to rent out my leasehold apartment in Barnes. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Even though your last Barnes conveyancing solicitor is not around you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the property. The accepted inference is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to seek permission from your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. This means that you cannot sublet without prior consent. The consent must not not be unreasonably withheld. If your lease prohibits you from letting out the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

I am hoping to exchange soon on a basement flat in Barnes. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they are sending me a report next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

  • You should be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
  • 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?
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • 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 you can do if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Barnes please ask your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Barnes

    • I've recently bought a leasehold house in Barnes. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

    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 ensure 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).

    I am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in Barnes where we see a few leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Barnes conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

    As long as the seller has owned the lease 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. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

    Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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 top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Barnes from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Barnes can be avoided where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
    • The majority freeholders or managing agents in Barnes charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Barnes.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Barnes leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. If you dont have the approvals in place do not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer before hand.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Organising a new share certificate is often a lengthy formality and frustrates many a Barnes home move. If 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 left on your lease but you should verify this via your solicitors. A buyer’s conveyancer 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 important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • Notwithstanding our best endeavours, we have been unsuccessful in negotiating a lease extension in Barnes. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

    in cases where there is a missing landlord or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the LVT to decide the price payable.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Barnes premises is 25 Petley Road in February 2010. The Tribunal determined that the price payable for the freehold of the subject premises should be £18,760. This case related to 2 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 156.6 years and 66.6 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Barnes