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

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

Top Five Questions relating to Blackfriars leasehold conveyancing

I am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a garden flat in Blackfriars. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they will have a report out to me next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Blackfriars should include some of the following:

  • The total extent of the demise. This will be the apartment itself but might include a loft or cellar if applicable.
  • Setting out your legal entitlements in relation to common areas in the building.By way of example, does the lease permit a right of way over an accessway or hallways?
  • An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
  • Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames
  • What you can do if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Blackfriars please ask your lawyer in advance of your conveyancing in Blackfriars

    • I am attracted to a couple of maisonettes in Blackfriars which have in the region of fifty years remaining on the leases. should I be concerned?

    A lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As a lease gets shorter the value of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. This is why it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

    I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Blackfriars where we see a few leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Blackfriars conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the buyer?

    Provided that 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 can avoid having 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 prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

    Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

    What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Blackfriars conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

    If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Blackfriars conveyancing practice) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you speak with several firms including non Blackfriars conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be of use:

    • How familiar is the firm with lease extension legislation?
  • If they are not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

    • Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Blackfriars with the aim of expediting the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Blackfriars can be avoided where you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
    • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Blackfriars state that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Where you fail to have the paperwork to hand do not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in the first instance.
  • A minority of Blackfriars leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where a dispute is unsettled. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over rather than unsettled.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to double-check via your solicitors. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord for a lease extension without success. Can I apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Blackfriars conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?

    Where there is a missing landlord or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to calculate the price payable.

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Blackfriars premises 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 unexpired lease term was 66.8 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Blackfriars