Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in Belgravia
I am intending to sublet my leasehold flat in Belgravia. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?
Notwithstanding that your previous Belgravia conveyancing solicitor is not available you can review your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the premises. The rule is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you must seek permission from your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of first obtaining permission. The consent should not be unreasonably turned down. If the lease prohibits you from letting out the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.
I am hoping to exchange soon on a basement flat in Belgravia. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they report fully next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?
The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Belgravia should include some of the following:
- The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and informed of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Belgravia. Conveyancing and Clydesdale mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing solicitor in Belgravia who acted for me is not around.What should I do?
The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Belgravia conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.
I work for a long established estate agent office in Belgravia where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales put at risk due to short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Belgravia conveyancing firms. Can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.
An alternative approach is 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.
After months of correspondence we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Belgravia. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?
in cases where there is a absentee landlord or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, 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 assess the price.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Belgravia premises is Flat 3 47 Cadogan Square in December 2010. the Tribunal determined that the premium payable to the landord by the leaseholder for the lease extension was £732,935 This case related to 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 13.33 years.
What are the frequently found deficiencies that you see in leases for Belgravia properties?
Leasehold conveyancing in Belgravia is not unique. Most leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:
- A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the building
- A duty to insure the building
- A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
- Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage
A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Lloyds TSB Bank, Coventry Building Society, and TSB all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to withdraw.
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