Quality lawyers for Leasehold Conveyancing in Leamouth

Get a Quote

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Leamouth, you will need to appoint a conveyancing practitioner with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Santander, RBS or Bradford & Bingley make sure you find a lawyer on their approved list. Find a Leamouth conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Common questions relating to Leamouth leasehold conveyancing

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Leamouth. Before diving in I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

If the lease is registered - and most are in Leamouth - 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.

My husband and I may need to sub-let our Leamouth ground floor flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We used a Leamouth conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have since shut 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 relations between the landlord and you the flat owner; specifically, it will set out if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Leamouth do not contain subletting altogether – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the property. In most cases there is a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the tenancy agreement.

Due to complete next month on a studio apartment in Leamouth. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they report fully within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Leamouth should include some of the following:

  • The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and informed of the importance of the 80 year mark
  • Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?
  • Does the lease prevent you from renting out the flat, or having a home office for business
  • You should be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
  • Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Leamouth please enquire of your lawyer in advance of your conveyancing in Leamouth

    • Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Leamouth from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Leamouth can be reduced where you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers representatives.
    • The majority landlords or managing agents in Leamouth levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Leamouth.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Leamouth leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Should you fail to have the paperwork to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer in the first instance.
  • If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and 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 reveal the dispute as over rather than unsettled.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to verify this via your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the lease term is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • Following months of dialogue we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Leamouth. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

    if there is a missing landlord or if there is disagreement 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 First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to arrive at the sum to be paid.

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Leamouth premises is 46 Credon Road in January 2014. On 11 September 2013 Deputy District Judge Price sitting at the Bow County Court made a vesting order that the freeholder surrender his lease and be granted a new lease of the Premises on such terms as may be determined by the First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber).The appropriate sum as concluded by the Tribunal was £7225 This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 69.77 years.

    What makes a Leamouth lease defective?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Leamouth. All leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain sections are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
    • A duty to insure the building
    • 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 can cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Halifax, The Mortgage Works, and Aldermore all have express 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 problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to withdraw.