I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Bickley. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Bickley - 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 let out my leasehold apartment in Bickley. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Even though your previous Bickley conveyancing solicitor is no longer around you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the premises. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to obtain consent via your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet without prior consent. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably withheld. If your lease prohibits you from letting out the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Bickley. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part 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 advice for leasehold conveyancing in Bickley from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Bickley can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers representatives.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in Bickley levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Bickley.

In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Bickley state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord consenting to such changes. If you dont have the paperwork to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your lawyer before hand.

A minority of Bickley leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.

You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable double-check via your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

Completion in due on the sale of our £425000 maisonette in Bickley on Thursday in a week. The freeholder has quoted £360 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Bickley?

Bickley conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually necessitates fees being raised by management companies :

• Answering pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Bickley
• 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 Bickley leasehold premises is £350. For Bickley 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 the information.

Following months of correspondence we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Bickley. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

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

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Bickley residence is 1 Southlands Court Southlands Road in September 2013. The Leasehold Valuation Tribunal determined that the premium to be paid by the tenant on the grant of a new lease, in accordance with section 56 and Schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 was £30,541 This case affected 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 50.57 years.

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Lease Extensions in Bickley