Top Five Questions relating to Kentish Town leasehold conveyancing
I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Kentish Town. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.
If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Kentish Town - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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.
Helen (my wife) and I may need to let out our Kentish Town basement flat temporarily due to a new job. We used a Kentish Town conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?
A lease dictates the relationship between the freeholder and you the flat owner; specifically, it will say if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Kentish Town do not contain strict prohibition on subletting – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the flat. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the sublease.
Due to sign contracts shortly on a basement flat in Kentish Town. Conveyancing lawyers have said 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?
The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Kentish Town should include some of the following:
- You should receive a copy of the lease
I've found a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have since found out that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a leasehold house in Kentish Town. Conveyancing lawyers have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?
The majority of houses in Kentish Town are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in Kentish Town in which case you should be looking for a Kentish Town conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the landlord’sconsent to conduct alterations. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your lawyer will appraise you on the various issues.
After months of negotiations we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Kentish Town. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?
in cases where there is a absentee freeholder or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to decide the price.
An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Kentish Town flat is Flat 2 27 Mackeson Road in December 2012. The Tribunal assessed the value of the lease extension premium at £35,435 and rounded the figure to £35,500 This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired term was 64.77 years.
When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Kentish Town what are the most frequent lease defects?
There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Kentish Town. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain sections are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:
- Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the building
- A duty to insure the building
- A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
- Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage
A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Accord Mortgages Ltd, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and TSB all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to pull out.
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