Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Hanworth:

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Hanworth, you will need to appoint a conveyancing lawyer with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Clydesdale , Yorkshire Building Society or Bradford & Bingley make sure you choose a lawyer on their panel. Feel free to use our search tool

Hanworth leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

My fiance and I may need to let out our Hanworth 1st floor flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Hanworth conveyancing practice in 2002 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Your lease dictates the relationship between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will indicate if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Hanworth do not prevent strict prohibition on subletting – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the flat. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the sublease.

Planning to complete next month on a leasehold property in Hanworth. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they will have a report out to me next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

  • The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and informed of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
  • Are pets allowed in the flat?
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
  • Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
  • I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames
  • What you can do if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Hanworth please enquire of your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in Hanworth

  • I’m about to sell my basement apartment in Hanworth.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

    The sensible thing to do is clear the service charge 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 management companies 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.

    Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Hanworth with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Hanworth can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
    • The majority freeholders or managing agents in Hanworth charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Hanworth.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Hanworth state that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord consenting to such changes. If you fail to have the consents in place you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your lawyer in the first instance.
  • If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge 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 purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should verify this via your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is less than 75 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

  • Following years of negotiations we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Hanworth. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

    if there is a absentee landlord or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the LVT to decide the premium.

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Hanworth flat is 147 Redford Close in June 2012. The Tribunal determined the lease extension premium to be at £4,200 This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 82.93 years.

    When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Hanworth what are the most common lease defects?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Hanworth. All leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain sections are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
    • A duty to insure the building
    • A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
    • Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

    You will encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Birmingham Midshires, The Mortgage Works, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Hanworth