Recently asked questions relating to Erith leasehold conveyancing
I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Erith. 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 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.
I would like to let out my leasehold flat in Erith. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?
A lease dictates the relationship between the landlord and you the flat owner; specifically, it will say if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Erith do not contain 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 duplicate of the sublease.
I am looking at a two apartments in Erith which have in the region of fifty years left on the lease term. Will this present a problem?
There are plenty of short leases in Erith. The lease is a right to use the property for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area
I work for a long established estate agency in Erith where we see a few leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Erith conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?
As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have 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 at the same time as 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 purchaser.
What are your top tips when it comes to appointing a Erith conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?
If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Erith conveyancing firm) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you speak with several firms including non Erith conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be helpful:
- How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?
I have had difficulty in negotiating a lease extension in Erith. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?
if there is a absentee freeholder or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to judgment on the premium.
An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Erith premises 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 was in relation to 13 flats. The unexpired lease term was 76 years.
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