I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Kensington. Before I get started I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Kensington - 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’m about to sell my basement apartment in Kensington.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a quarterly service charge demand – what should I do?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay the service charge 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 unless 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 work for a reputable estate agent office in Kensington where we have experienced a few flat sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Kensington conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities 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 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 has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is 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.

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

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Kensington can be reduced if you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in Kensington levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for 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 cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Kensington.

If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Kensington leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord approving such alterations. Where you dont have the approvals in place you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor in the first instance.

If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Arranging a new share certificate is often a lengthy process and delays many a Kensington home move. If a new share is required, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the lease term is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

We expect to complete our sale of a £350000 apartment in Kensington in six days. The landlords agents has quoted £396 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Kensington?

For most leasehold sales in Kensington conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Addressing conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Kensington
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Kensington leasehold property is £350. For Kensington conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to supply answers.

I have had difficulty in seeking a lease extension in Kensington. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a Kensington conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Kensington flat is 93 Oakwood Court in June 2010. the LVT determined that the premium to be paid for the new lease was £492,083, This case related to 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 37.79 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Kensington