Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Hillingdon:

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While any conveyancing solicitor can theoretically handle your leasehold conveyancing in Hillingdon, your mortgage provider may unwilling to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Hillingdon leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Hillingdon. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Hillingdon - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 68 years remaining on my flat in Hillingdon. I now want to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What options are available to me?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to locate the lessor. For most situations a specialist may be useful to try and locate and prepare an expert document which can be used as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Hillingdon.

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Hillingdon where we have witnessed a number of flat sales put at risk due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Hillingdon conveyancing firms. Can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 purchaser.

What are your top tips when it comes to finding a Hillingdon conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Hillingdon conveyancing firm) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you speak with two or three firms including non Hillingdon conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be useful:

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

    • Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Hillingdon from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

    • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Hillingdon can be avoided where you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
    • Many landlords or Management Companies in Hillingdon levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Hillingdon.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Hillingdon leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. If you fail to have the approvals to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor in advance.
  • A minority of Hillingdon 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. Any 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 buyers or their solicitors.
  • If you have had 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 concerned about purchasing a flat where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay 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 will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.

    • I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord to extend my lease without success. Can one make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Hillingdon conveyancing firm to help?

    if there is a absentee landlord or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the LVT to calculate the price.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Hillingdon flat is 164 Nestles Avenue in October 2013. The tribunal agreed with the proposed price of £20,158 for the freehold and determined that that sum is the amount to be paid into court This case affected 2 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 69 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Hillingdon