Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Lambeth. Before I get started I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is registered - and almost all are in Lambeth - 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.

There are only 72 years remaining on my lease in Lambeth. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What should I do?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have done all that could be expected to locate the freeholder. For most situations a specialist would be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Lambeth.

I have just appointed agents to market my garden flat in Lambeth.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is 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 managing agents 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.

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £275000 flat in Lambeth next Wednesday . The managing agents has quoted £408 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Lambeth?

Lambeth conveyancing on leasehold flats usually requires the purchaser’s solicitor sending questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to these enquiries most will be willing to assist. They are at liberty charge a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it exceeds £800. The administration charge levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration charges, without which the invoice is technically not due. In reality you have little option but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord to extend my lease without getting anywhere. Can one make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Lambeth conveyancing firm to help?

in cases where there is a missing freeholder or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the LVT to make a decision on the amount due.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Lambeth flat is Flats 12A & 19, Evelyn Mansions Carlisle Place in June 2009. The Tribunal held that the price to be paid for the new lease of Flat 12A is £168,824, For the other flat the price was set at £169,110 This case affected 2 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 56 years.

What makes a Lambeth lease defective?

Leasehold conveyancing in Lambeth is not unique. All leases are unique and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain sections are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Nationwide Building Society, Coventry Building Society, and TSB all have express conveyancing instructions 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 purchaser to pull out.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Lambeth