I work for a long established estate agency in Crofton Park where we have experienced a number of flat sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Crofton Park conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

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 need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. 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 disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Crofton Park conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Crofton Park conveyancing firm) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you speak with several firms including non Crofton Park conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be of use:

• How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?
• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Crofton Park with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Crofton Park can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
• Many landlords or managing agents in Crofton Park levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Crofton Park.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Crofton Park leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. Should you fail to have the approvals to hand do not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer before hand.
• A minority of Crofton Park leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is ongoing. You may have to bite the bullet 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 are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.

We expect to complete our sale of a £ 450000 flat in Crofton Park in seven days. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Crofton Park?

Crofton Park conveyancing on leasehold apartments more often than not necessitates the buyer’s solicitor sending questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer these enquiries most will be content to do so. They are entitled charge a reasonable charge for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it is above £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the invoice is technically not due. In reality one has no choice but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to sell the property.

I am the leaseholder of a ground floor flat in Crofton Park. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the amount payable for the purchase of the freehold?

in cases where there is a missing freeholder or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to decide the sum to be paid.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Crofton Park flat is Flat b 14 Kemble Road in May 2014. The Tribunal assessed the value of the premium payable for the lease extension to be £9,761 This case was in relation to 1 flat.

Are there common deficiencies that you encounter in leases for Crofton Park properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Crofton Park. Most leases are unique 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:

• 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

A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Halifax, Leeds Building Society, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd 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, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Crofton Park - Examples of Queries before buying

Is the freehold owned collectively by the tenants?