Experts for Leasehold Conveyancing in Kingsbury

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Kingsbury, you will need to appoint a conveyancing practitioner with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Lloyds, Yorkshire Building Society or Nationwide make sure you choose a lawyer on their panel. Feel free to use our search tool

Kingsbury leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

My fiance and I may need to sub-let our Kingsbury garden flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We used a Kingsbury conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Kingsbury conveyancing solicitor is not around you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the premises. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to obtain consent via your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior permission. The consent should not be unreasonably withheld. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor apartment in Kingsbury.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a quarterly service charge invoice – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is clear 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 am employed by a long established estate agency in Kingsbury where we have experienced a few flat sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Kingsbury conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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 need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, 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.

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

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 work. We advise that you speak with two or three firms including non Kingsbury conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

  • How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?
  • What volume of lease extensions have they carried out in Kingsbury in the last year?

  • I inherited a basement flat in Kingsbury. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the amount payable for the purchase of the freehold?

    You certainly can. We are happy to put you in touch with a Kingsbury conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Kingsbury property 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 remaining number of years on the lease was 70.25 years.

    What makes a Kingsbury lease unmortgageable?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Kingsbury is not unique. 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 elements of the property
    • Insurance obligations
    • 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, Barnsley Building Society, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to pull out.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Kingsbury