Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Cockfosters:

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Cockfosters, you will need to appoint a conveyancing lawyer with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Lloyds, Birmingham Midshires or Nationwide make sure you find a lawyer on their approved list. Find a Cockfosters conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in Cockfosters

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

Notwithstanding that your last Cockfosters conveyancing lawyer is no longer around you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the property. The rule is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to seek permission via your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of first obtaining permission. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably turned down. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord for their consent.

Expecting to complete next month on a garden flat in Cockfosters. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they are sending me a report on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

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

  • Does the lease prevent you from subletting the property, or having a home office for business
  • You should be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
  • Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
  • 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
  • What you can do if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease?
  • 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 Cockfosters please ask your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Cockfosters

    • I own a leasehold house in Cockfosters. Conveyancing and Platform Home Loans Ltd mortgage organised. I have received a letter 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 1993. The conveyancing solicitor in Cockfosters who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

    First contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Cockfosters conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

    I've recently bought a leasehold property in Cockfosters. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

    Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure 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).

    Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Cockfosters with the aim of expediting the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Cockfosters can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
    • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Cockfosters leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Should you dont have the consents to hand do not contact the landlord without contacting your solicitor first.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to 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 purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.
  • If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Organising a duplicate share certificate can be a lengthy process and frustrates many a Cockfosters home move. Where a new share certificate is required, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your solicitors. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

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

    if there is a missing landlord or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to calculate the sum to be paid.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Cockfosters premises is 23 Beaconsfield Road in July 2013. The Tribunals decided that the amount payable was £31,203 for the freehold. This case related to 2 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 70.31 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Cockfosters