I own a leasehold flat in Chadwell Heath. Conveyancing and Aldermore mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing practitioner in Chadwell Heath who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Chadwell Heath 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 landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Chadwell Heath which have about 50 years remaining on the leases. should I be concerned?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Chadwell Heath is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the value of the premises. The majority of purchasers and lenders, leases with less than 75 years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of property with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Chadwell Heath conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Chadwell Heath. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner 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. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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).

I am employed by a reputable estate agent office in Chadwell Heath where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Chadwell Heath conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

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. This means that the buyer can avoid having to wait 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 agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 Chadwell Heath with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Chadwell Heath can be reduced if you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Chadwell Heath leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Where you dont have the paperwork to hand do not contact the landlord without contacting your solicitor first.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without getting anywhere. Can a leaseholder apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Chadwell Heath conveyancing firm to represent me?

Most certainly. We can put you in touch with a Chadwell Heath conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Chadwell Heath flat is 49 Aldborough Road South in July 2012. The Tribunal decided that the premium payable for the grant of the new lease was £13,925 This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 61.36 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Chadwell Heath