Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Gospel Oak:

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Gospel Oak leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Gospel Oak. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the remaining lease term.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Gospel Oak - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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 am hoping to complete next month on a ground floor flat in Gospel Oak. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they are sending me a report tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Gospel Oak should include some of the following:

  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
  • Whether the lease restricts you from renting out the flat, or working from home
  • You should be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
  • 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 Gospel Oak please enquire of your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in Gospel Oak

    • I own a leasehold house in Gospel Oak. Conveyancing and Barclays mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing practitioner in Gospel Oak who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

    First make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Gospel Oak conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

    Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Gospel Oak. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

    Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner 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. It is an essential part 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).

    Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Gospel Oak from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Gospel Oak can be reduced where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers representatives.
    • The majority freeholders or managing agents in Gospel Oak charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Gospel Oak.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Gospel Oak leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord approving such works. Should you dont have the paperwork in place do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor in advance.
  • If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share document. Organising a duplicate share certificate can be a time consuming formality and delays many a Gospel Oak home move. Where a duplicate share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible.

    • Having spent years of correspondence we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Gospel Oak. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

    in cases where there is a missing landlord or if 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 calculate the premium.

    An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Gospel Oak property is Flat 2 27 Mackeson Road in December 2012. The Tribunal assessed the value of the lease extension premium at £35,435 and rounded the figure to £35,500 This case related to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 64.77 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Gospel Oak