I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Lambeth. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Lambeth - 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.

There are only Seventy years remaining on my lease in Lambeth. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to locate the landlord. In some cases an enquiry agent would be helpful to try and locate and prepare an expert document which can be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Lambeth.

I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor apartment in Lambeth.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a quarterly service charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should clear 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 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.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Lambeth with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Lambeth can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Lambeth state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord approving such alterations. Where you fail to have the consents to hand do not contact the landlord without contacting your solicitor before hand.

A minority of Lambeth leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the yearly 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.

If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.

If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share certificate. Obtaining a re-issued share certificate is often a time consuming process and slows down many a Lambeth conveyancing deal. If a reissued share certificate is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £275000 garden flat in Lambeth in nine days. The freeholder has quoted £360 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Lambeth?

Lambeth conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually involves administration charges levied by freeholders :

• Completing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Lambeth
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Lambeth leasehold property is £350. For Lambeth 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 answers.

I am the leaseholder of a first floor flat in Lambeth. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the sum due for a lease extension?

Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a Lambeth conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision 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 was in relation to 2 flats. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 56 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Lambeth