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

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While any conveyancing solicitor can theoretically handle your leasehold conveyancing in Clerkenwell, your mortgage provider may unwilling to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Questions and Answers: Clerkenwell leasehold conveyancing

Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Clerkenwell. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and almost all are in Clerkenwell - 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.

Frank (my husband) and I may need to rent out our Clerkenwell basement flat temporarily due to a new job. We used a Clerkenwell conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

A lease dictates relations between the landlord and you the flat owner; specifically, it will say if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. The majority of leases in Clerkenwell do not prevent an absolute prevention of subletting – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the flat. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 72 years unexpired on my flat in Clerkenwell. I need to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. What are my options?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have used your best endeavours to find the lessor. In some cases an enquiry agent should be useful to carry out a search and to produce a report which can be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Clerkenwell.

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Clerkenwell conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Clerkenwell conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you make enquires with several firms including non Clerkenwell conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be helpful:

  • How familiar is the firm with lease extension legislation?
  • If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?

    • Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Clerkenwell from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Clerkenwell can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers representatives.
    • The majority freeholders or managing agents in Clerkenwell charge for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought 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 frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Clerkenwell.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Clerkenwell leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Should you dont have the approvals to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor before hand.
  • A minority of Clerkenwell leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice 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 able to meet 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
  • If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and 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 will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.

    • After years of correspondence we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Clerkenwell. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

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

    An example of a Lease Extension case for a Clerkenwell residence is Flat 89 Trinity Court Grays Inn Road in February 2013. the Tribunal found that the premium to be paid by the tenant on the grant of a new lease, in accordance with section 56 and Schedule 13 to the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 should be £36,229. This case affected 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 66.8 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Clerkenwell