Leasehold Conveyancing in Harrow on the Hill - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

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Leasehold conveyancing in Harrow on the Hill is more complex than freehold. Your home move will be smoother where you choose a lawyer with a wealth of experience of leasehold conveyancing in Harrow on the Hill and throughout next step up in loc. The lawyers we recommend have been approved by your lender so use our search tool to check.

Harrow on the Hill leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

My husband and I may need to let out our Harrow on the Hill garden flat for a while due to a new job. We used a Harrow on the Hill conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Harrow on the Hill conveyancing solicitor is no longer around you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must obtain permission via your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. This means that you cannot sublet without first obtaining consent. Such consent should not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

Due to complete next month on a studio apartment in Harrow on the Hill. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they are sending me a report next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Harrow on the Hill 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
  • Setting out your legal entitlements in relation to the communal areas in the block.For example, does the lease contain a right of way over an accessway or hallways?
  • Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Harrow on the Hill please ask your lawyer in advance of your conveyancing in Harrow on the Hill

    • I've found a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have since been informed that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Harrow on the Hill. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

    The majority of houses in Harrow on the Hill are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in Harrow on the Hill so you should seriously consider looking for a Harrow on the Hill conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a lessee you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the landlord’spermission to conduct alterations. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is part of an estate. Your conveyancer should appraise you on the various issues.

    Back In 2006, I bought a leasehold flat in Harrow on the Hill. Conveyancing and Yorkshire Building Society mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing practitioner in Harrow on the Hill who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

    First make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Harrow on the Hill conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

    Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Harrow on the Hill from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Harrow on the Hill can be avoided where you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
    • A minority of Harrow on the Hill leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
  • If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where a dispute is unresolved. You will have to accept that you will have to 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 prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should ensure that you hold the original share document. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate can be a lengthy process and frustrates many a Harrow on the Hill home move. If a reissued share certificate is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should double-check via your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is below 75 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • I am the registered owner of a ground flat in Harrow on the Hill. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the sum due for the purchase of the freehold?

    Where there is a absentee freeholder or where 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 judgment on the sum to be paid.

    An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Harrow on the Hill premises is flat 93b Welldon Crescent in May 2009. The Tribunals valuation for a 90-year lease extension of this fat was £13,171 This case related to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 75.25 years.