I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Dartmouth Park. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Dartmouth Park - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Dartmouth Park. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I work for a long established estate agency in Dartmouth Park where we have witnessed a few flat sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Dartmouth Park conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension process 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 commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 choosing a Dartmouth Park conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Dartmouth Park conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you make enquires with several firms including non Dartmouth Park conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?
• If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Dartmouth Park with the intention of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Dartmouth Park can be bypassed where 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 purchasers’ conveyancers.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in Dartmouth Park levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Dartmouth Park.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Dartmouth Park leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Should you dont have the consents to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor before hand.
• 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 marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing 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 prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate can be a time consuming formality and slows down many a Dartmouth Park conveyancing transaction. Where a new share is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this as soon as possible.

I am the leaseholder of a second floor flat in Dartmouth Park. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the premium due for a lease extension?

Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a Dartmouth Park conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Dartmouth Park residence is Flat 2 27 Mackeson Road in December 2012. The Tribunal assessed the value of the lease extension premium at £35,435 and rounded the figure to £35,500 This case related to 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 64.77 years.

I am the registered owner of a basement flat in Dartmouth Park, conveyancing having been completed 5 years ago. 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? Similar flats in Dartmouth Park with an extended lease are worth £239,000. The ground rent is £45 yearly. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2103

With 77 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £12,400 and £14,200 plus legals.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.