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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Cricklewood, you will need to chose a conveyancing solicitor with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Santander, Yorkshire Building Society or Bradford & Bingley make sure you find a lawyer on their approved list. Find a Cricklewood conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Top Five Questions relating to Cricklewood leasehold conveyancing

I want to rent out my leasehold flat in Cricklewood. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?

Your lease governs relations between the landlord and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will set out if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. Most leases in Cricklewood do not contain an absolute prevention of subletting – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the property. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the tenancy agreement.

Planning to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in Cricklewood. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they will have a report out to me next week. What should I be looking out for?

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

  • You should receive a copy of the lease
  • Will you be prohibited or prevented from having pets in the property?
  • Does the lease prevent you from subletting the property, or working from home
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
  • The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?
  • What options are open to you if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Cricklewood please ask your lawyer in advance of your conveyancing in Cricklewood

    • I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Cricklewood where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Cricklewood conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

    Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

    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 purchaser.

    Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Cricklewood from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Cricklewood can be avoided if 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.
    • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Cricklewood state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord approving such changes. If you dont have the paperwork to hand you should not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer in advance.
  • Some Cricklewood leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and 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 will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Arranging a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming process and slows down many a Cricklewood conveyancing deal. If a new share is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible.

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

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

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Cricklewood flat is 73 and 73a St. Pauls Avenue in October 2013. the Tribunal held in accordance with section32 and Schedule 6 of the Leasehold Reform,Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 that the premium for the enfranchisement was fifty three thousand three hundred and sixty one pounds (£53,361.00) This case related to 2 flats. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 64.61 and 67.18.

    What are the frequently found deficiencies that you come across in leases for Cricklewood properties?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Cricklewood. Most leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can sometimes mean that 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 elements of the property
    • Insurance obligations
    • 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

    You could encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Yorkshire Building Society, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Clydesdale all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Cricklewood