Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Erith. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Erith - 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.

There are only 72 years unexpired on my flat in Erith. I need 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 submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to locate the freeholder. For most situations an enquiry agent should be helpful to try and locate and to produce a report to be used as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Erith.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to be perfect, at a reasonable price which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently discovered that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a leasehold house in Erith. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Erith are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Erith in which case you should be looking for a Erith conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the landlord’sconsent to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your lawyer will appraise you on the various issues.

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Erith conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Erith conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Erith conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• What volume of lease extensions has the firm conducted in Erith in the last 12 months?

Can they put you in touch with client in Erith who can give a testimonial?

We expect to complete our sale of a £125000 garden flat in Erith in nine days. The management company has quoted £360 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Erith?

Erith conveyancing on leasehold flats normally necessitates fees being raised by managing agents :

• Answering pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Erith
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Erith leasehold property is £350. For Erith conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to supply answers.

Having spent years of negotiations we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Erith. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

in cases where there is a missing landlord or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the LVT to determine the sum to be paid.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Erith residence is Various @ Colombus Square in January 2012. the Tribunal calculated the premiums to be paid for new leases for each of the flats in Mariners Walk to be £3822 and the premium to be paid for the new lease of 2 Knights Court to be £4439. This case related to 13 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 76 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Erith