I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Barnsbury. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is registered - and most are in Barnsbury - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my 2 bed flat in Barnsbury.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

It best that you clear the service charge as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of flats in Barnsbury which have in the region of forty five years left on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in Barnsbury. The lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As a lease shortens the value of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more costly to extend the lease. This is why it is advisable to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

I am employed by a reputable estate agent office in Barnsbury where we have witnessed a few flat sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Barnsbury conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed 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 purchaser.

We expect to complete our sale of a £350000 apartment in Barnsbury on Wednesday in a week. The landlords agents has quoted £300 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Barnsbury?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Barnsbury conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Completing pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Barnsbury
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Barnsbury leasehold premises is £350. For Barnsbury conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to supply answers.

Having spent years of dialogue we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Barnsbury. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

if there is a absentee landlord or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to judgment on the price.

An example of a Lease Extension case 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 affected 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 62.79 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Barnsbury