I own a leasehold flat in Leyton. Conveyancing and Nationwide Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing solicitor in Leyton who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

First contact HMLR to make sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Leyton conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Leyton. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I work for a busy estate agency in Leyton where we see a few flat sales put at risk due to short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Leyton conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, 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 buyer.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Leyton with the aim of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Leyton can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Leyton state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Should you fail to have the approvals in place do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor in the first instance.
• Some Leyton leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
• If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. 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 details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing.
• If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Arranging a re-issued share certificate is often a time consuming process and delays many a Leyton home move. If a reissued share certificate is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £ 500000 flat in Leyton on Monday in a week. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Leyton?

Leyton conveyancing on leasehold apartments more often than not involves the purchaser’s lawyer submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to such questions the majority will be content to assist. They may invoice a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is above £800. The administration charge levied by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the invoice is technically not due. In reality one has no option but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord to extend my lease without getting anywhere. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal decide on such issues? Can you recommend a Leyton conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?

in cases where there is a missing freeholder or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the LVT to determine the amount due.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Leyton residence is 12 Nutfield Road in July 2014. the Tribunal judged that the price to be paid by the applicants for the freehold interest should be £19,572 This case related to 2 flats. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 72.02 years.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Leyton - Examples of Queries Prior to Purchasing

Is the freehold owned collectively by the tenants? The majority of Leyton leasehold apartments will have a service bill for the upkeep of the building invoiced on behalf of the freeholder. If you buy the flat you will have to meet this liability, normally periodically throughout the year. This may vary from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built blocks. There will also be a ground rent for you to pay yearly, this is usually not a large figure, say about £50-£100 but you should to enquire it because sometimes it could be prohibitively expensive.