Top Five Questions relating to Kennington leasehold conveyancing
There are only 68 years remaining on my lease in Kennington. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?
If 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 or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the lessor. In some cases a specialist would be helpful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Kennington.
I am hoping to exchange soon on a ground floor flat in Kennington. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they will have a report out to me on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?
Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Kennington should include some of the following:
- The total extent of the premises. This will be the flat itself but may include a loft or cellar if appropriate.
I've found a house that seems to be perfect, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have since discovered that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Kennington. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?
Most houses in Kennington are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in Kennington so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Kennington conveyancing practitioner and check that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions for example requiring the freeholder’spermission to carry out changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the house is located on an estate. Your lawyer will report to you on the legal implications.
I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Kennington. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?
Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.
If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).
I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Kennington where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Kennington conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the seller of a flat can start 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 start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with 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.
I am the registered owner of a first floor flat in Kennington. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the amount payable for a lease extension?
Where there is a missing landlord or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the LVT to determine the price.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Kennington flat is Ground Floor Flat 39 Bronsart Road in May 2010. Following a vesting order by West London County Court the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal concluded that the price to be paid for the extended lease of the premises was Thirteen Thousand Two hundred pounds (£13,200) in accordance with the valuation. The extended lease was granted for a term of 90 years from the expiry date of the Lease and at a peppercorn ground rent from the date of the vesting order. This case related to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 74.77 years.
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