Quality lawyers for Leasehold Conveyancing in Blackfriars

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Blackfriars leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

There are only 62 years unexpired on my flat in Blackfriars. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What are my options?

If 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 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 magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent may be helpful to try and locate and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Blackfriars.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my 2 bed apartment in Blackfriars.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a yearly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge 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 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.

I am employed by a reputable estate agency in Blackfriars where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales derailed due to short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Blackfriars conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension process 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 proposed purchaser 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 has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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 buyer.

All being well we will complete our sale of a £275000 apartment in Blackfriars in just under a week. The freeholder has quoted £420 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 Blackfriars?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Blackfriars conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

  • Answering pre-exchange questions
  • Where consent is required before sale in Blackfriars
  • Supplying insurance information
  • Deeds of covenant upon sale
  • Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale
Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Blackfriars leasehold premises is £350. For Blackfriars 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 obliged to provide the information.

After months of dialogue we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Blackfriars. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

if there is a missing landlord or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to determine the premium.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Blackfriars flat is Flat 89 Trinity Court Grays Inn Road in February 2013. the Tribunal found that the premium to be paid by the tenant on the grant of a new lease, in accordance with section 56 and Schedule 13 to the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 should be £36,229. This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 66.8 years.

What makes a Blackfriars lease unmortgageable?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Blackfriars. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain sections are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

  • A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the building
  • A duty to insure the building
  • A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
  • Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You may encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Halifax, Virgin Money, and Nottingham Building Society all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

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Lease Extensions in Blackfriars