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Questions and Answers: Harefield leasehold conveyancing

Looking forward to exchange soon on a ground floor flat in Harefield. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they report fully on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Harefield should include some of the following:

  • You should receive a copy of the lease
  • The physical extent of the property. This will be the flat itself but could also incorporate a roof space or basement if applicable.
  • Setting out your legal entitlements in respect of the communal areas in the building.For instance, does the lease permit a right of way over a path or hallways?
  • Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?
  • 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
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Harefield please enquire of your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Harefield

    • I’m about to sell my 2 bed apartment in Harefield.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

    Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge 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 managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

    What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Harefield conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

    If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Harefield conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you speak with two or three firms including non Harefield conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be useful:

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

    • Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Harefield from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

    • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Harefield can be reduced where you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
    • Many freeholders or Management Companies in Harefield charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Harefield.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Harefield leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Where you fail to have the consents in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer first.
  • Some Harefield leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the yearly 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 solicitors.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important 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 an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet 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 will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.

    • Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £500000 maisonette in Harefield on Tuesday in a week. The management company has quoted £408 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Harefield?

    Harefield conveyancing on leasehold flats usually involves the buyer’s conveyancer sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to these enquiries the majority will be willing to assist. They are entitled levy a reasonable administration fee for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it exceeds £800. The administration charge levied by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration charges, without which the invoice is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that one has little option but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

    I am the registered owner of a second floor flat in Harefield. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the sum due for a lease extension?

    in cases where there is a absentee freeholder or where there is dispute 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 Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to decide the premium.

    An example of a Lease Extension case for a Harefield residence is Flats 8, 11 and 15 Craigmore Court 46 Murray Road in December 2013. The tribunal held that the price payable by the Applicant tenant of Flat 8 to acquire an extended lease shall be £26,438 plus £1 to the intermediate lessee . The tribunal held that the price payable by the Applicant tenants of Flat 11 to acquire an extended lease shall be £26,791 plus £1 to the intermediate lessee. The tribunal held that the price payable by the Applicant tenant of Flat 15 to acquire an extended lease shall be £26,638 plus £1 to the intermediate lessee . This case related to 3 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 71 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Harefield