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

Get a Quote

Leasehold conveyancing in Chislehurst is more complex than freehold. Your home move will be smoother where you choose a lawyer with a wealth of experience of leasehold conveyancing in Chislehurst and next step up in loc. The lawyers we recommend have been approved by your lender so use our search tool to check.

Questions and Answers: Chislehurst leasehold conveyancing

My partner and I may need to sub-let our Chislehurst ground floor flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Chislehurst conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time seek any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your last Chislehurst conveyancing solicitor is not available you can check your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The rule is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to obtain permission from your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining permission. The consent must not not be unreasonably turned down. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

I am hoping to exchange soon on a garden flat in Chislehurst. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they will have a report out to me on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

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

  • The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and informed of the importance of the 80 year mark
  • Setting out your legal entitlements in relation to the communal areas in the block.By way of example, does the lease provide for a right of way over an accessway or staircase?
  • Does the lease prevent you from renting out the flat, or having a home office for business
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?
  • I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
  • 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.
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Chislehurst please ask your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Chislehurst

    • I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agency in Chislehurst where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Chislehurst conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can start 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 start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 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 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 top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Chislehurst with the purpose of expediting the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Chislehurst can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
    • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Chislehurst leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such works. Should you dont have the approvals in place you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer first.
  • Some Chislehurst leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
  • If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where a dispute is unresolved. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 present the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Arranging a re-issued share certificate can be a lengthy formality and delays many a Chislehurst conveyancing transaction. Where a reissued share is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible.

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

    in cases where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to make a decision on the sum to be paid.

    An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Chislehurst premises is 70 Andace Park Gardens 133-149 Widmore Road in November 2013. Tribunal determined that the premium payable for the lease extension was £10,052 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 72 years.

    What are the frequently found defects that you come across in leases for Chislehurst properties?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Chislehurst. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building
    • Insurance obligations
    • Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
    • Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

    You will encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. HSBC Bank, Coventry Building Society, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Chislehurst