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Top Five Questions relating to Belgravia leasehold conveyancing

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Sixty One years unexpired on my flat in Belgravia. I am keen to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What are my options?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to locate the lessor. For most situations an enquiry agent would be useful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document to be used as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Belgravia.

I have just started marketing my garden apartment in Belgravia.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a yearly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is clear the invoice 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 management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I own a leasehold house in Belgravia. Conveyancing and Aldermore mortgage went though with no issue. 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 1991. The conveyancing solicitor in Belgravia who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Belgravia 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 legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am looking at a two apartments in Belgravia both have about 50 years remaining on the leases. should I be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Belgravia. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As a lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Belgravia from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Belgravia can be avoided where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers solicitors.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Belgravia state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Should you fail to have the approvals in place you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor in the first instance.
  • A minority of Belgravia leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
  • If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should ensure that you hold the original share document. Organising a duplicate share certificate is often a time consuming formality and slows down many a Belgravia home move. If a reissued share is needed, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this sooner rather than later.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to double-check by asking your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without success. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such matters? Can you recommend a Belgravia conveyancing firm to assist?

    if there is a missing freeholder 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 Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to determine the price payable.

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Belgravia property 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 affected 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 13.33 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Belgravia