I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor apartment in Cubitt Town.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a half-yearly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge the service charge as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I am looking at a couple of apartments in Cubitt Town which have approximately forty five years left on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Cubitt Town is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the marketability of the premises. The majority of buyers and mortgage companies, leases with less than eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Cubitt Town conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agency in Cubitt Town where we see a number of flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Cubitt Town conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the seller of a flat can start 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 commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with 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 buyer.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Cubitt Town with the aim of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Cubitt Town can be reduced if you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
• The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Cubitt Town levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Cubitt Town.

In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Cubitt Town leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Should you fail to have the paperwork to hand do not contact the landlord without contacting your solicitor before hand.

If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Arranging a duplicate share certificate is often a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Cubitt Town conveyancing transaction. Where a duplicate share certificate is required, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to verify this via your lawyers. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease 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 disposal of our £125000 flat in Cubitt Town next week. The landlords agents has quoted £336 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Cubitt Town?

Cubitt Town conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally necessitates administration charges raised by managing agents :

• Addressing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Cubitt Town
• 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 Cubitt Town leasehold property is £350. For Cubitt Town 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 required to provide the information.

Having spent months of correspondence we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Cubitt Town. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a Cubitt Town conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Cubitt Town premises is 12, 14 & 16 Hull Close in May 2010. the Tribunal determined that the premium payable for the acquisition of the freehold to the subject premises was the sum of £18,300 This case related to 3 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 101.61 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Cubitt Town