Planning to exchange soon on a ground floor flat in Kennington. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they are sending me a report 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 property itself but may incorporate a roof space or basement if applicable.
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
• What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease?

I have just started marketing my 2 bed flat in Kennington.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a half-yearly service charge invoice – what should I do?

It best that you discharge the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Kennington where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Kennington conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that 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 can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. 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 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 buyer.

What are your top tips when it comes to appointing a Kennington conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Kennington conveyancing firm) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Kennington conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be of use:

• What volume of lease extensions has the firm conducted in Kennington in the last 12 months?
• What are the legal fees for lease extension work?

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Kennington from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Kennington can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• The majority landlords or Management Companies in Kennington charge for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Kennington.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Kennington leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such works. If you fail to have the paperwork to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer first.
• If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. 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 particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as over rather than ongoing.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Organising a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Kennington home move. Where a new share is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

I have had difficulty in trying to reach an agreement for a lease extension in Kennington. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

in cases where there is a missing landlord or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to assess the amount due.

An example of a Lease Extension decision 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 affected 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 74.77 years.

Kennington Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries before Purchasing

How is the lease structured? The prefered form of lease structure is a share of the freehold. In this situation the lessees benefit from control and even though a managing agent is usually retained if the building is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants. Plenty Kennington leasehold flats will incur a service bill for the upkeep of the building set by the landlord. Where you purchase the apartment you will have to pay this liability, usually periodically during the year. This may be anything from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large communal grounds. In all probability there will be a ground rent for you to pay annual, this is usually not a large amount, say about £50-£100 but you need to check as sometimes it could be many hundreds of pounds.