Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Beddington. Before I get started I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Beddington - 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.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 68 years remaining on my flat in Beddington. I am keen to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent would be useful to conduct investigations and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Beddington.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Beddington. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

In a situation 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).

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Beddington from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Beddington can be reduced if you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Beddington charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Beddington.

In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Beddington state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Where you dont have the consents in place do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer before hand.

If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where a dispute is unsettled. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.

If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Arranging a new share certificate can be a lengthy process and frustrates many a Beddington conveyancing transaction. If a duplicate share certificate is needed, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

Completion in due on our sale of a £400000 garden flat in Beddington in just under a week. The freeholder has quoted £300 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Beddington?

Beddington conveyancing on leasehold flats normally results in fees being invoiced by freeholders :

• Addressing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Beddington
• 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 lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Beddington leasehold premises is £350. For Beddington 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 obliged to supply the information.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without any joy. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such matters? Can you recommend a Beddington conveyancing firm to help?

Most definitely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Beddington conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Beddington premises is Ground Floor Flat 14 Lodge Road in October 2013. the tribunal held that the price payable for the acquisition of the extended lease of the property should be £12,590 .00 This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired term was 69.46 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Beddington