Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Hounslow:

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Hounslow, you will need to chose a conveyancing practitioner with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Clydesdale , Birmingham Midshires or NatWest make sure you choose a lawyer on their approved list. Find a Hounslow conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Frequently asked questions relating to Hounslow leasehold conveyancing

Looking forward to complete next month on a leasehold property in Hounslow. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they will have a report out to me within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
  • The physical extent of the premises. This will be the apartment itself but may include a roof space or cellar if applicable.
  • An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
  • 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
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Hounslow please ask your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Hounslow

    • I've found a house that appears to be perfect, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have since found out that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in Hounslow. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

    The majority of houses in Hounslow are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Hounslow so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Hounslow conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the freeholder’spermission to carry out changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is part of an estate. Your solicitor will advise you fully on all the issues.

    I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Hounslow where we have experienced a few flat sales put at risk due to short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Hounslow conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

    As long as the seller has owned the lease 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 can avoid having to sit tight for 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 sale.

    Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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 advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a Hounslow conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

    When appointing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Hounslow conveyancing firm) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you talk with two or three firms including non Hounslow conveyancing practices before you 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 practice with lease extension legislation?
  • How many lease extensions has the firm conducted in Hounslow in the last year?

    • Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Hounslow with the aim of expediting the sale process?

    • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Hounslow can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
    • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Hounslow leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such changes. If you dont have the consents to hand do not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor first.
  • Some Hounslow leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents 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 freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is ongoing. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. 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 historic as opposed to unresolved.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable verify this by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is under 75 years. It is therefore 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 have had difficulty in trying to purchase the freehold in Hounslow. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

    Where there is a missing freeholder or where there is dispute 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 decide the price payable.

    An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Hounslow property is Ground Floor Flat 91 Bath Road in May 2009. in a case where the freeholder could not be traced, the Brentford County Court ordered that the Lease be surrendered in return for the grant of a new lease of the Premises at a premium determined by the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal. The tribunal concluded that the price payable by the Applicant for the new lease of the premises be £15,900 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 60.45 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Hounslow