Leasehold Conveyancing in Biggin Hill - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

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Any conveyancing practice can theoretically handle your leasehold conveyancing in Biggin Hill, your mortgage provider may not be willing to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Recently asked questions relating to Biggin Hill leasehold conveyancing

I want to let out my leasehold flat in Biggin Hill. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

A lease dictates the relationship between the freeholder and you the flat owner; in particular, it will set out if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. The majority of leases in Biggin Hill do not prevent 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.

There are only Seventy years left on my lease in Biggin Hill. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to find the freeholder. For most situations a specialist would be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document to be used as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Biggin Hill.

Expecting to complete next month on a garden flat in Biggin Hill. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they are sending me a report next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Biggin Hill should include some of the following:

  • Defining your rights in respect of the communal areas in the building.By way of example, does the lease provide for a right of way over an accessway or hallways?
  • You must be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
  • The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Biggin Hill please ask your lawyer in advance of your conveyancing in Biggin Hill

    • I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor apartment in Biggin Hill.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

    It best that you clear 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 unless 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.

    Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Biggin Hill from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Biggin Hill can be reduced if you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
    • If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Biggin Hill state that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Should you dont have the consents in place you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer before hand.
  • A minority of Biggin Hill leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to 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 clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over rather than ongoing.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check via your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is under 80 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without getting anywhere. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal decide on such matters? Can you recommend a Biggin Hill conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?

    Absolutely. 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 premises 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 the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 50.57 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Biggin Hill