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Leasehold conveyancing in Covent Garden 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 Covent Garden and next step up in loc. The lawyers we recommend have been approved by your lender so use our search tool to check.

Top Five Questions relating to Covent Garden leasehold conveyancing

My husband and I may need to sub-let our Covent Garden basement flat temporarily due to a new job. We used a Covent Garden conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Even though your last Covent Garden conveyancing solicitor is not available you can review your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The rule is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to seek permission via your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of first obtaining consent. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably withheld. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Expecting to sign contracts shortly on a leasehold property in Covent Garden. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they are sending me a report tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

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

  • Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?
  • You must be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
  • An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
  • 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 For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Covent Garden please enquire of your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Covent Garden

    • I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Covent Garden where we see a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Covent Garden conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

    As long as 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer 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 sale.

    Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 buyer.

    Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Covent Garden with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Covent Garden can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
    • If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Covent Garden leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord approving such changes. Should you fail to have the approvals to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in the first instance.
  • Some Covent Garden 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 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 are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should ensure that you have the original share certificate. Arranging a new share certificate can be a time consuming process and delays many a Covent Garden conveyancing transaction. Where a duplicate share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable verify this via your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is below 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • Notwithstanding our best efforts, we have been unsuccessful in trying to purchase the freehold in Covent Garden. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

    in cases where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the LVT to calculate the premium.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Covent Garden residence is 20 Avonwick Road in July 2013. The Tribunal was dealing with an application under Section 26 of the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 for a determination of the freehold value of the property. It was concluded that the price to be paid was Fifteen Thousand Nine Hundred and Seventy (£15,970) divided as to £8,200 for Flat 20 and £7,770 for Flat 20A This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 73.26 years.

    What makes a Covent Garden lease problematic?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Covent Garden. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are not included. 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 property
    • A duty to insure the building
    • A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
    • Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

    You could have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Nationwide Building Society, Chelsea Building Society, and Nottingham Building Society all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Covent Garden