Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Brent Cross:

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Recently asked questions relating to Brent Cross leasehold conveyancing

I am intending to sublet my leasehold apartment in Brent Cross. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Even though your previous Brent Cross conveyancing solicitor is not around you can check your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The rule is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to obtain consent via your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet in the absence of first obtaining permission. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

Due to exchange soon on a ground floor flat in Brent Cross. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they are sending me a report on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

  • Setting out your legal entitlements in respect of the communal areas in the block.E.G., does the lease contain a right of way over an accessway or hallways?
  • Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?
  • Will you be prohibited or prevented from having pets in the property?
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Brent Cross please enquire of your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Brent Cross

    • My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Brent Cross. Conveyancing and Clydesdale mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing practitioner in Brent Cross who previously acted has now retired.Any advice?

    The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Brent Cross conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

    I am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in Brent Cross where we have witnessed a number of flat sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Brent Cross conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?

    Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

    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 purchaser.

    Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Brent Cross with the aim of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Brent Cross can be reduced where you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
    • The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Brent Cross charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Brent Cross.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Brent Cross leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. Where you fail to have the consents in place you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your lawyer before hand.
  • If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge 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 are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Arranging a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Brent Cross conveyancing deal. Where a duplicate share is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible.

    • After months of dialogue we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Brent Cross. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

    Most certainly. We are happy to put you in touch with a Brent Cross conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Brent Cross property is First Floor Flat 61 Wilberforce Road in March 2014. The premium payable was £10,130 and the case was remitted back to the Willesden County Court to effect the Vesting Order (Claim No 3W103100). This case was in relation to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 71 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Brent Cross