Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Dulwich:

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

Recently asked questions relating to Dulwich leasehold conveyancing

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Dulwich. Before I get started I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is registered - and most are in Dulwich - 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.

I today plan to offer on a house that seems to meet my requirements, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently found out that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a leasehold house in Dulwich. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Dulwich ?

Most houses in Dulwich are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Dulwich in which case you should be shopping around for a Dulwich conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions for example obtaining the landlord’spermission to carry out changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is located on an estate. Your solicitor will report to you on the legal implications.

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in Dulwich where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Dulwich conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as 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 can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is 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 purchaser.

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Dulwich conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Dulwich conveyancing practice) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you speak with two or three firms including non Dulwich conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

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

    • Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Dulwich with the purpose of expediting the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Dulwich can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
    • Some Dulwich leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the annual 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 you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. 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 buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
  • If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Arranging a replacement share certificate can be a time consuming process and frustrates many a Dulwich home move. If a new share is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to verify this by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is below 80 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • My wife and I have hit a brick wall in negotiating a lease extension in Dulwich. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

    in cases where there is a missing freeholder or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to make a decision on the premium.

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Dulwich residence is 60 Taymount Grange Taymount Rise in June 2012. The Tribunal determined the premium at £13,346 for a lease extension of a further 90 years This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 64 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Dulwich