Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Fulham:

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Common questions relating to Fulham leasehold conveyancing

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years unexpired on my lease in Fulham. I need to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What options are available to me?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 enable the lease to be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the landlord. In some cases an enquiry agent should be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document which can be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Fulham.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Fulham. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

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. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element 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 agency in Fulham where we have experienced a few leasehold sales put at risk due to short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Fulham conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension formalities 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 commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having 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 sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

What are your top tips when it comes to finding a Fulham conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Fulham conveyancing practice) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Fulham conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be useful:

  • How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?
  • What volume of lease extensions have they carried out in Fulham in the last twenty four months?

  • If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £400000 flat in Fulham next Monday . The managing agents has quoted £420 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Fulham?

    Fulham conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually necessitates the purchaser’s lawyer sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer these enquiries the majority will be content to do so. They may charge a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it is in excess of £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the charge is technically not due. In reality you have little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to complete the sale of your home.

    Having spent months of dialogue we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Fulham. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

    in cases where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to arrive at the amount due.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Fulham property is 66 and 66a Wardo Avenue in November 2012. The Tribunal determined that the sum of £8,048 is payable by the Applicants in respect of the price for the freehold of the property This case was in relation to 2 flats. The unexpired term was 93 years and 162 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Fulham