I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Gipsy Hill. Before I set the wheels in motion I want to be sure as to the remaining lease term.

If the lease is registered - and almost all are in Gipsy Hill - 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 fiance and I may need to rent out our Gipsy Hill basement flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Gipsy Hill conveyancing practice in 2002 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Gipsy Hill conveyancing lawyer is no longer around you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the property. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to seek consent via your landlord or some other party before subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of first obtaining consent. The consent should not be unreasonably turned down. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Gipsy Hill. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

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. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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).

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Gipsy Hill with the purpose of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Gipsy Hill can be reduced if you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
• The majority freeholders or managing agents in Gipsy Hill charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Gipsy Hill.

I have given up seeking a lease extension in Gipsy Hill. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Gipsy Hill conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Gipsy Hill premises is Flat 5 4 Border Crescent in December 2013. the tribunal calculated that premium payable for the acquisition of a lease extension of the subject premises was in the sum of £14,900 (Fourteen thousand, nine hundred pounds). Those advising the applicant were advised to send a copy of the decision and a copy of the new lease with the premium (less the applicants costs as assessed by the Court) to the Croydon County Court (under claim number 3CR01226) for an officer of the Court to execute the new lease on behalf of the absentee landlord who is missing and cannot be traced). This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired term was 69 years.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Gipsy Hill what are the most frequent lease defects?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Gipsy Hill. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the building
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. HSBC Bank, Skipton Building Society, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to withdraw.