I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Belvedere. Before I set the wheels in motion I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and almost all are in Belvedere - 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 wish to sublet my leasehold flat in Belvedere. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Your lease dictates relations between the freeholder and you the flat owner; in particular, it will say if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Belvedere do not contain subletting altogether – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the flat. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the sublease.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to be perfect, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have since discovered that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Belvedere. Conveyancing solicitors have are about to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Belvedere are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Belvedere so you should seriously consider looking for a Belvedere conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the freeholder’spermission to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your solicitor should appraise you on the various issues.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Belvedere with the intention of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Belvedere can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
• Many landlords or Management Companies in Belvedere levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Belvedere.

Some Belvedere leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the annual 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 solicitors.

If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where a dispute is unsettled. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge 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.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check via your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the remaining number of years is less than 75 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

All being well we will complete the sale of our £375000 garden flat in Belvedere next Monday . The landlords agents has quoted £348 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Belvedere?

For most leasehold sales in Belvedere 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 Belvedere
• Supplying insurance information
• 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 Belvedere leasehold premises is £350. For Belvedere 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 provide the information.

Following years of dialogue we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Belvedere. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

Where there is a missing freeholder or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to determine the sum to be paid.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Belvedere residence is Various @ Colombus Square in January 2012. the Tribunal calculated the premiums to be paid for new leases for each of the flats in Mariners Walk to be £3822 and the premium to be paid for the new lease of 2 Knights Court to be £4439. This case related to 13 flats. The unexpired term was 76 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Belvedere