Leasehold Conveyancing in Crossness - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

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

Crossness leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Crossness. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Crossness - 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.

My wife and I may need to sub-let our Crossness basement flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We used a Crossness conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Crossness conveyancing solicitor is no longer around you can review your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the premises. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must seek consent via your landlord or some other party before subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior permission. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease prohibits you from letting out the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

There are only Sixty One years unexpired on my flat in Crossness. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to locate the landlord. In some cases an enquiry agent may be helpful to carry out a search and prepare a report to be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Crossness.

Expecting to exchange soon on a ground floor flat in Crossness. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they are sending me a report within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Crossness should include some of the following:

  • You should be sent a copy of the lease
  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
  • 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
  • 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
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?
  • The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Crossness please ask your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Crossness

    • What are your top tips when it comes to finding a Crossness conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

    If you are instructing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Crossness conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you talk with several firms including non Crossness conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

    • If they are not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?
  • What are the charges for lease extension work?

    • After months of correspondence we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Crossness. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

    Where there is a missing 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 First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to arrive at the premium.

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Crossness flat 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 affected 13 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 76 years.