Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Biggin Hill:

Get a Quote

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Biggin Hill, you will need to appoint a conveyancing solicitor with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Clydesdale , Yorkshire Building Society or NatWest be sure to find a lawyer on their panel. Find a Biggin Hill conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Recently asked questions relating to Biggin Hill leasehold conveyancing

My partner and I may need to let out our Biggin Hill basement flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Biggin Hill conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Biggin Hill conveyancing lawyer is no longer around you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the premises. The rule is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to seek consent via your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. This means that you cannot sublet without prior permission. Such consent must not 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’m about to sell my ground floor flat in Biggin Hill.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a half-yearly service charge demand – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay the service charge 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 managing agents 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

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 found out that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Biggin Hill. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Biggin Hill ?

The majority of houses in Biggin Hill are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in Biggin Hill in which case you should be shopping around for a Biggin Hill conveyancing practitioner and check that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as obtaining the freeholder’sconsent to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is located on an estate. Your solicitor will report to you on the legal implications.

I am employed by a long established estate agency in Biggin Hill where we have witnessed a few flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Biggin Hill conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 purchaser.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Biggin Hill from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

  • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Biggin Hill can be avoided if you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
  • Many landlords or Management Companies in Biggin Hill charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Biggin Hill.
  • A minority of Biggin Hill 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 will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or settle 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 particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.
  • If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Arranging a new share certificate is often a lengthy formality and slows down many a Biggin Hill conveyancing transaction. Where a new share is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

    • I own a basement flat in Biggin Hill. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the sum due for the purchase of the freehold?

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

    An example of a Lease Extension case for a Biggin Hill flat 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 was in relation to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 50.57 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Biggin Hill