Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Blackwall:

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Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in Blackwall

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Blackwall. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Blackwall - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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 only have 72 years unexpired on my flat in Blackwall. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. 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 submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you have done all that could be expected to find the lessor. In some cases a specialist should be helpful to try and locate and prepare an expert document to be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Blackwall.

Back In 2005, I bought a leasehold house in Blackwall. Conveyancing and Alliance & Leicester mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing practitioner in Blackwall who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

First contact HMLR to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Blackwall conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Blackwall. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

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. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure 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).

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Blackwall from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Blackwall can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
  • The majority freeholders or managing agents in Blackwall charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Blackwall.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Blackwall state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord approving such changes. If you dont have the consents in place do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor in the first instance.
  • If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should double-check by asking your lawyers. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is less than 75 years. It is therefore 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.

    • Following years of correspondence we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Blackwall. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

    Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Blackwall conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Blackwall property is 12, 14 & 16 Hull Close in May 2010. the Tribunal determined that the premium payable for the acquisition of the freehold to the subject premises was the sum of £18,300 This case related to 3 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 101.61 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Blackwall