I work for a reputable estate agency in Crayford where we have witnessed a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Crayford conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

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. This means that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is 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 offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Crayford conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Crayford conveyancing practice) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Crayford 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 useful:

• How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?
• What volume of lease extensions has the firm carried out in Crayford in the last twenty four months?

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Crayford from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Crayford can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start marketing 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 permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Crayford state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. If you fail to have the consents in place do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor first.
• A minority of Crayford leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
• If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to 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 clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to double-check via your conveyancers. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is under 75 years. It is therefore important 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 property on the market for sale.

All being well we will complete the sale of our £ 175000 garden flat in Crayford on Wednesday in a week. The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Crayford?

Crayford conveyancing on leasehold flats typically necessitates fees being raised by landlords agents :

• Addressing pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Crayford
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Crayford leasehold property is £350. For Crayford conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to provide the information.

I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord to extend my lease without getting anywhere. Can one make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Crayford conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?

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

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Crayford property is Various @ Colombus Square in January 2012. the Tribunal calculated the premiums to be paid for new leases for each of the flats in Mariners Walk to be £3822 and the premium to be paid for the new lease of 2 Knights Court to be £4439. This case was in relation to 13 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 76 years.

What makes a Crayford lease defective?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Crayford. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain sections are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Lloyds TSB Bank, Skipton Building Society, and Barclays Direct all have very detailed 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 buyer to pull out.

I purchased a split level flat in Crayford, conveyancing having been completed in 1996. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Comparable flats in Crayford with an extended lease are worth £178,000. The ground rent is £50 invoiced annually. The lease ceases on 21st October 2091

You have 65 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £15,200 and £17,600 plus legals.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.