Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Hampton Hill:

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Any conveyancing practice can theoretically handle your leasehold conveyancing in Hampton Hill, your mortgage provider may unwilling to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Recently asked questions relating to Hampton Hill leasehold conveyancing

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Hampton Hill. Before I get started I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is registered - and most are in Hampton Hill - 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.

Jane (my partner) and I may need to sub-let our Hampton Hill garden flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Hampton Hill conveyancing practice in 2002 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Your lease governs the relationship between the freeholder and you the flat owner; specifically, it will set out if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Hampton Hill do not contain subletting altogether – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the flat. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the sublease.

I’m about to sell my garden flat in Hampton Hill.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a half-yearly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is pay the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Hampton Hill. Conveyancing and Virgin Money mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in Hampton Hill who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Hampton Hill conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line 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.

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

  • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Hampton Hill can be reduced if you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Hampton Hill state that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. If you dont have the consents in place do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in advance.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and 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 are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Obtaining a new share certificate is often a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Hampton Hill conveyancing transaction. Where a reissued share is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is under 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • Notwithstanding our best endeavours, we have been unsuccessful in negotiating a lease extension in Hampton Hill. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

    Where there is a absentee landlord or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, 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 arrive at the premium.

    An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Hampton Hill flat is Ground Floor Flat 91 Bath Road in May 2009. in a case where the freeholder could not be traced, the Brentford County Court ordered that the Lease be surrendered in return for the grant of a new lease of the Premises at a premium determined by the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal. The tribunal concluded that the price payable by the Applicant for the new lease of the premises be £15,900 This case affected 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 60.45 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Hampton Hill