Experts for Leasehold Conveyancing in Herne Hill

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Herne Hill leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Herne Hill. Before diving in I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Herne 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.

I am intending to let out my leasehold apartment in Herne Hill. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Notwithstanding that your last Herne Hill conveyancing lawyer is no longer available you can review your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the property. The accepted inference is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to seek permission via your landlord or some other party before subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior permission. The consent should not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two apartments in Herne Hill both have approximately forty five years left on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Herne Hill is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the marketability of the property. The majority of buyers and banks, leases with under 75 years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of property with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Herne Hill conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Herne Hill where we see a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Herne Hill conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. 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 disposal of the property.

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 buyer.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Herne Hill from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

  • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Herne Hill can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers representatives.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Herne Hill state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord consenting to such works. If you fail to have the paperwork to hand do not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer before hand.
  • Some Herne Hill leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying 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 purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where a dispute is ongoing. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should verify this via your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the lease term is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • I am the leaseholder of a first flat in Herne Hill. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the sum due for the purchase of the freehold?

    if there is a missing freeholder or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to judgment on the premium.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Herne Hill property is 66 Southwell Road in March 2012. By Order of Deputy District Judge Stone dated 25 January 2012 a vesting order was made. The determination of the purchase price was referred to the Tribunal who decided that the amount payable for the freehold should be£29,612.00 This case related to 3 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 72.58 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Herne Hill