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Recently asked questions relating to Colney Hatch leasehold conveyancing

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Colney Hatch. Before diving in I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Colney Hatch - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Colney Hatch. 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. It is an essential part 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 Colney Hatch with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

  • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Colney Hatch can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
  • The majority landlords or managing agents in Colney Hatch charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Colney Hatch.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Colney Hatch state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such works. Should you fail to have the approvals in place do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor first.
  • Some Colney Hatch leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to double-check by asking your solicitors. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is below 80 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • All being well we will complete our sale of a £325000 apartment in Colney Hatch on Tuesday in a week. The management company has quoted £384 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Colney Hatch?

    Colney Hatch conveyancing on leasehold apartments more often than not involves the buyer’s solicitor submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer such questions the majority will be willing to do so. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it exceeds £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the charge is not strictly payable. In reality one has little option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to complete the sale of your home.

    I am the leaseholder of a basement flat in Colney Hatch. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the premium due for a lease extension?

    if there is a missing freeholder or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to assess the premium.

    An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Colney Hatch flat is 90 & 96 Poplar Grove in June 2013. It was held by the Tribunal that the premium to be paid for the new lease in respect of each of the flats referred should be £17,942 This case affected 2 flats. The unexpired term was 68 years.

    What are the frequently found deficiencies that you see in leases for Colney Hatch properties?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Colney Hatch is not unique. Most leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
    • A duty to insure the building
    • 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

    A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Halifax, Coventry Building Society, and Aldermore all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Colney Hatch