I am attracted to a two apartments in Kingsbury both have about 50 years left on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Kingsbury. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the value of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is advisable to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

I am employed by a long established estate agency in Kingsbury where we see a few flat sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Kingsbury conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

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. This means that the buyer need not have 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 simultaneously with completion of the sale.

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 buyer.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Kingsbury conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Kingsbury conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Kingsbury conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be of use:

• How familiar is the firm with lease extension legislation?

Can they put you in touch with client in Kingsbury who can give a testimonial?

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Kingsbury with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Kingsbury can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
• The majority freeholders or managing agents in Kingsbury levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Kingsbury.

In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Kingsbury state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord approving such alterations. If you dont have the paperwork in place do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer in the first instance.

Some Kingsbury leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.

You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check by asking your solicitors. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is below 80 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

Completion in due on the disposal of our £125000 maisonette in Kingsbury on Tuesday in a week. The management company has quoted £372 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Kingsbury?

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

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

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Kingsbury leasehold premises is £350. For Kingsbury 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 provide the information.

I have had difficulty in trying to purchase the freehold in Kingsbury. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

if there is a absentee freeholder or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to calculate the premium.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Kingsbury residence is 27B Hillside in February 2010. the resulting premium, all other aspects of the valuation having been agreed between the parties was set at £8,250 This case affected 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 70.25 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Kingsbury