Common questions relating to Hounslow leasehold conveyancing
I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Hounslow. Before diving in I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.
If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Hounslow - 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.
I wish to rent out my leasehold flat in Hounslow. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?
Even though your last Hounslow conveyancing lawyer is no longer around you can review your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to seek consent via your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. This means that you cannot sublet without prior permission. The consent should not be unreasonably turned down. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord for their consent.
I have recently realised that I have Fifty years left on my flat in Hounslow. I now want to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What are my options?
On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to track down the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent should be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Hounslow.
Due to complete next month on a leasehold property in Hounslow. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they are sending me a report next week. What should I be looking out for?
The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Hounslow should include some of the following:
- You should be sent a copy of the lease
I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Hounslow where we have experienced a few flat sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Hounslow conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?
Provided that 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. This means that the proposed purchaser 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 has to be done prior to, 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 buyer.
Having spent months of dialogue we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Hounslow. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?
in cases where there is a missing landlord or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to judgment on the price payable.
An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Hounslow premises 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 affected 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 60.45 years.
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