Leasehold Conveyancing in Barnsbury - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Barnsbury, you will need to instruct a conveyancing lawyer with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Halifax, RBS or Nationwide be sure to choose a lawyer on their approved list. Find a Barnsbury conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Frequently asked questions relating to Barnsbury leasehold conveyancing

Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Barnsbury. Before I get started I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Barnsbury - 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.

I want to sublet my leasehold flat in Barnsbury. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Notwithstanding that your last Barnsbury conveyancing solicitor is not available you can review your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the property. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you need to obtain permission via your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet without prior permission. The consent should not be unreasonably turned down. 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 Barnsbury. Conveyancing lawyers have said 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 Barnsbury should include some of the following:

  • The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and aware of the importance of the 80 year mark
  • Defining your legal entitlements in relation to common areas in the building.For example, does the lease contain a right of way over an accessway or staircase?
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?
  • 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
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Barnsbury please ask your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in Barnsbury

    • I own a leasehold house in Barnsbury. Conveyancing and TSB mortgage organised. A letter has just been received 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 1993. The conveyancing solicitor in Barnsbury who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

    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. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Barnsbury conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

    I've recently bought a leasehold house in Barnsbury. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

    Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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. It is an essential part 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 have given up trying to reach an agreement for a lease extension in Barnsbury. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

    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 LVT to assess the sum to be paid.

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Barnsbury flat is Flat 120, Clare Court Judd Street in August 2013. the Tribunal held that the premium to be paid for the extension of the lease should be £64,650 This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 62.79 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Barnsbury