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Recently asked questions relating to Elephant and Castle leasehold conveyancing

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 62 years left on my flat in Elephant and Castle. I now want to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. What should I do?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the landlord. For most situations a specialist may be helpful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be used as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Elephant and Castle.

Looking forward to complete next month on a ground floor flat in Elephant and Castle. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they report fully on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Elephant and Castle should include some of the following:

  • You should be sent a copy of the lease
  • The physical extent of the property. This will be the flat itself but could also include a loft or basement if appropriate.
  • You should be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
  • The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice? For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Elephant and Castle please ask your lawyer in advance of your conveyancing in Elephant and Castle

    • My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Elephant and Castle. Conveyancing and Coventry Building Society mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing solicitor in Elephant and Castle who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

    First contact HMLR to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Elephant and Castle conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

    I am looking at a two apartments in Elephant and Castle which have about forty five years unexpired on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

    There are plenty of short leases in Elephant and Castle. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the value of the lease reduces and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is generally wise to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend money on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

    Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Elephant and Castle with the aim of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Elephant and Castle can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
    • The majority landlords or Management Companies in Elephant and Castle levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Elephant and Castle.
  • Some Elephant and Castle leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Arranging a replacement share certificate is often a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Elephant and Castle home move. Where a duplicate share is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to double-check via your lawyers. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is under 80 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • We have reached the end of our tether in trying to purchase the freehold in Elephant and Castle. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

    if there is a missing freeholder or if 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 assess the price.

    An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Elephant and Castle flat is Ground Floor Flat 39 Bronsart Road in May 2010. Following a vesting order by West London County Court the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal concluded that the price to be paid for the extended lease of the premises was Thirteen Thousand Two hundred pounds (£13,200) in accordance with the valuation. The extended lease was granted for a term of 90 years from the expiry date of the Lease and at a peppercorn ground rent from the date of the vesting order. This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 74.77 years.