Guaranteed fixed fees for Leasehold Conveyancing in Dollis Hill

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

Common questions relating to Dollis Hill leasehold conveyancing

My fiance and I may need to let out our Dollis Hill garden flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Dollis Hill conveyancing practice in 2002 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your last Dollis Hill conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the property. The rule is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to seek permission via your landlord or some other party before subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet without prior consent. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably turned down. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement flat in Dollis Hill.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

It best that you pay 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 management companies 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 tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two flats in Dollis Hill which have in the region of 50 years unexpired on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Dollis Hill is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the value of the premises. The majority of purchasers and banks, leases with under 75 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 property 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 Dollis Hill 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 They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed 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.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Dollis Hill. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

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 ensure 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).

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Dollis Hill with the intention of expediting the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Dollis Hill can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Dollis Hill leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. If you dont have the paperwork in place do not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer first.
  • Some Dollis Hill leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
  • If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay 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 will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to verify this via your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the remaining number of years is less than 75 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • Having spent years of negotiations we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Dollis Hill. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

    Where there is a missing landlord or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the LVT to make a decision on the sum to be paid.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Dollis Hill premises is 12 & 12A Deacon Road in May 2010. the Tribunal concluded that the price to be paid for the freehold should be £38,287 This case related to 2 flats. The unexpired term was 65.58 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Dollis Hill