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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Ealing, you will need to appoint a conveyancing practitioner with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Clydesdale , RBS or NatWest make sure you choose a lawyer on their approved list. Feel free to use our search tool

Top Five Questions relating to Ealing leasehold conveyancing

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Ealing. Before I get started I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

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

Harry (my fiance) and I may need to sub-let our Ealing basement flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Ealing conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time get any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Your lease dictates the relationship between the landlord and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will set out if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. The majority of leases in Ealing do not prevent strict prohibition on subletting – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the property. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a copy of the tenancy agreement.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Ealing. Conveyancing and Aldermore mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing solicitor in Ealing who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

First contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a Ealing conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am employed by a reputable estate agent office in Ealing where we see a number of flat sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Ealing conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. 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.

An alternative approach is 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.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Ealing with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Ealing can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
  • The majority landlords or Management Companies in Ealing levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Ealing.
  • A minority of Ealing leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 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 before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or settle 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 better to present the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Obtaining a new share certificate can be a lengthy process and delays many a Ealing conveyancing deal. Where a reissued share certificate is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible.

    • Following years of negotiations we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Ealing. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

    Most certainly. We are happy to put you in touch with a Ealing conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Ealing flat is Flat 4 38 The Mall in April 2014. the Tribunal held that the premium payable for the lease extension to be £25,451 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 68.7 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Ealing