Sample questions relating to East Dulwich leasehold conveyancing
I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in East Dulwich. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the remaining lease term.
If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in East 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.
My partner and I may need to rent out our East Dulwich basement flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We used a East Dulwich conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?
Even though your previous East Dulwich conveyancing lawyer is no longer available you can review your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the premises. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must obtain permission from your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet without prior permission. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.
My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in East Dulwich. Conveyancing and Bank of Ireland mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing practitioner in East Dulwich who acted for me is not around.Any advice?
First contact HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a East Dulwich conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.
Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in East Dulwich. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?
In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part 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 am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in East Dulwich where we have experienced a few leasehold sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local East Dulwich conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension process 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 kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.
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 buyer.
I have given up trying to reach an agreement for a lease extension in East Dulwich. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?
You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a East Dulwich conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a East Dulwich residence is Flat 1 40-42 Ewelme Road in August 2012. the Tribunal assessed the premium for the lease extension in the sum of £11,800 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 61.81 years.
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