Leasehold Conveyancing in Hadley Wood - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

Get a Quote

While any conveyancing solicitor can theoretically deal with your leasehold conveyancing in Hadley Wood, your mortgage provider may not be willing to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Recently asked questions relating to Hadley Wood leasehold conveyancing

I am intending to let out my leasehold flat in Hadley Wood. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

Even though your last Hadley Wood conveyancing solicitor is not available you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The rule is that if the lease is silent, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to seek consent via your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior consent. Such consent should not be unreasonably withheld. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Hadley Wood. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

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. However, 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).

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Hadley Wood where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Hadley Wood conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension process 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 start 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 to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a Hadley Wood conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Hadley Wood 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 Hadley Wood 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:

  • How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?
  • If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?

    • Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Hadley Wood from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Hadley Wood can be reduced where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
    • The majority freeholders or managing agents in Hadley Wood levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Hadley Wood.
  • A minority of Hadley Wood leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable verify this via your solicitors. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is under 75 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • After years of negotiations we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Hadley Wood. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

    in cases where there is a absentee landlord or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to determine the premium.

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Hadley Wood residence is Flat 2 2 Netherfield Road in April 2010. The Tribunale held that premium payable for a 90 year extension to the existing Lease should be £7,705. This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 76 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Hadley Wood