Quality lawyers for Leasehold Conveyancing in Millbank

Get a Quote

Leasehold conveyancing in Millbank is more complex than freehold. Your home move will be smoother where you choose a lawyer with a wealth of experience of leasehold conveyancing in Millbank and across next step up in loc. The lawyers we recommend have been approved by your lender so use our search tool to check.

Sample questions relating to Millbank leasehold conveyancing

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Millbank. Before I get started I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is registered - and most are in Millbank - 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.

Frank (my husband) and I may need to rent out our Millbank basement flat temporarily due to a new job. We used a Millbank conveyancing firm in 2002 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Millbank conveyancing lawyer is not around you can check your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the premises. The rule is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to obtain permission from your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. This means that you cannot sublet without first obtaining consent. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably withheld. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord for their consent.

I have recently realised that I have Sixty One years remaining on my lease in Millbank. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the lessor. For most situations a specialist should be helpful to carry out a search and prepare a report which can be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Millbank.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Millbank. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

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. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part 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).

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Millbank from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

  • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Millbank can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Millbank leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Where you fail to have the approvals to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your lawyer in advance.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where a dispute is unsettled. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over rather than unsettled.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Obtaining a replacement share certificate can be a time consuming process and slows down many a Millbank conveyancing transaction. If a duplicate share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your solicitors. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord to extend my lease without any joy. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such issues? Can you recommend a Millbank conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?

    Where there is a absentee landlord or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the LVT to make a decision on the amount due.

    An example of a Lease Extension case for a Millbank property 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 number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 56 years.