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Common questions relating to Neasden leasehold conveyancing

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Neasden. Before I get started I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

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

I want to rent out my leasehold apartment in Neasden. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Even though your previous Neasden conveyancing solicitor is not around you can review your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the property. The accepted inference is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to seek permission from your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior permission. Such consent must not not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Neasden. 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 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. 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).

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Neasden with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Neasden can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them 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? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Neasden state that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. If you dont have the approvals to hand do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your lawyer in advance.
  • Some Neasden leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the annual 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 purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Arranging a duplicate share certificate can be a time consuming process and slows down many a Neasden conveyancing deal. If a duplicate share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible.

    • My wife and I have hit a brick wall in trying to purchase the freehold in Neasden. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

    if there is a missing freeholder or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to determine the sum to be paid.

    An example of a Lease Extension case for a Neasden residence is 12 Deacon Road in November 2012. the premium to be paid for the grant of the new lease was the sum of £31 ,635.00 (Thirty-One thousand and six hundred and thirty-five Pounds). The matter was then returned to the Willesden County Court for the completion of the grant of the new lease in substitution for the existing lease on payment into court the sum of £31,635.00 less the sum of £2,890.20 assessed costs incurred by the leaseholder. Thus the net sum of £28,744.80 was to be paid into court. This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 61.98 years.

    Are there common defects that you see in leases for Neasden properties?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Neasden. All leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain sections are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
    • 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

    You may encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Halifax, The Mortgage Works, and Barclays Direct all have very detailed 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 defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to pull out.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Neasden