Leasehold Conveyancing in Millwall - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

Get a Quote

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Millwall, you will need to appoint a conveyancing practitioner with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Clydesdale , Yorkshire Building Society or Nationwide make sure you choose a lawyer on their approved list. Find a Millwall conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Millwall leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

I only have 68 years remaining on my flat in Millwall. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. 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 magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to locate the freeholder. For most situations an enquiry agent should be helpful to try and locate and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Millwall.

Due to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Millwall. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they report fully tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

  • You should receive a copy of the lease
  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
  • You must be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Millwall please ask your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Millwall

    • I've recently bought a leasehold property in Millwall. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

    Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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).

    Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Millwall conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

    If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Millwall conveyancing practice) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you speak with two or three firms including non Millwall conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be of use:

    • If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?
  • How many lease extensions have they conducted in Millwall in the last year?

    • Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Millwall with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

    • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Millwall can be reduced where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers conveyancers.
    • Many landlords or Management Companies in Millwall 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 sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Millwall.
  • A minority of Millwall leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
  • If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge 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 details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over rather than ongoing.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Obtaining a replacement share certificate is often a time consuming process and slows down many a Millwall home move. If a new share is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

    • Following years of negotiations we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Millwall. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

    Where there is a absentee landlord or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to arrive at the sum to be paid.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Millwall flat is 12, 14 & 16 Hull Close in May 2010. the Tribunal determined that the premium payable for the acquisition of the freehold to the subject premises was the sum of £18,300 This case related to 3 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 101.61 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Millwall