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Cheam leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Sixty One years left on my lease in Cheam. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What options are available to me?

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 lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the landlord. In some cases an enquiry agent may be useful to carry out a search and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Cheam.

Looking forward to exchange soon on a ground floor flat in Cheam. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they are sending me a report tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

  • You should receive a copy of the lease
  • Defining your rights in respect of common areas in the block.By way of example, does the lease grant a right of way over a path or staircase?
  • Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?
  • Whether the lease restricts you from letting out the property, or working from home
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Cheam please ask your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Cheam

    • I own a leasehold house in Cheam. Conveyancing and Alliance & Leicester mortgage organised. 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 1992. The conveyancing practitioner in Cheam who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

    The first thing you should do is contact 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 incur the fees of a Cheam conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

    I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Cheam where we have experienced a few leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Cheam conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can start 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. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. 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.

    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.

    Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Cheam with the intention of expediting the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Cheam can be reduced if you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers representatives.
    • Many landlords or Management Companies in Cheam charge for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Cheam.
  • A minority of Cheam leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the yearly 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 buyers or their lawyers.
  • If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Organising a re-issued share certificate is often a time consuming formality and slows down many a Cheam home move. Where a reissued share is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to 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 under 80 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.

    • I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without any joy. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such issues? Can you recommend a Cheam conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?

    Most definitely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Cheam conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Cheam residence is 33 The Maisonettes Alberta Avenue in June 2014. the Tribunal decided that the premium payable for the grant of a new lease be the sum of £20,680 (Twenty Thousand six hundred and eighty pounds). This case affected 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 60.43 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Cheam