I am looking at a two maisonettes in New Barnet which have in the region of 50 years left on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease shortens the marketability of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

I work for a busy estate agency in New Barnet where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local New Barnet conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can commence 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 commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have 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 prior to, or at the same time as 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 offer any advice when it comes to finding a New Barnet conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a New Barnet conveyancing firm) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you make enquires with two or three firms including non New Barnet conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be useful:

• How familiar is the firm with lease extension legislation?
• What volume of lease extensions have they carried out in New Barnet in the last twenty four months?

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in New Barnet from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in New Barnet can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers representatives.
• Many freeholders or Management Companies in New Barnet levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have 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 cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in New Barnet.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? New Barnet leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Should you fail to have the consents to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer first.
• Some New Barnet leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand 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.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining 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 below 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

I own a garden flat in New Barnet. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the amount due for a lease extension?

Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a New Barnet conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a New Barnet premises is Flat 2 2 Netherfield Road in April 2010. The Tribunale held that premium payable for a 90 year extension to the existing Lease should be £7,705. This case related to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 76 years.

What makes a New Barnet lease defective?

Leasehold conveyancing in New Barnet is not unique. All leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• 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.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Halifax, Leeds Building Society, and Aldermore all have very detailed requirements 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, obliging the buyer to pull out.

New Barnet Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing

Many New Barnet leasehold properties will have a service bill for the upkeep of the block invoiced by the freeholder. If you acquire the property you will have to pay this amount, usually periodically throughout the year. This can vary from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built buildings. There will also be a rentcharge to be met yearly, this is usually not a large amount, say approximately £25-£75 but you should to enquire it because occasionally it could be surprisingly expensive. On the whole the outlay for major works tend not to be included within service charges, albeit that a few managing agents in New Barnet ask leaseholders to pay into a reserve fund created for the specific intention of building a fund for major repairs or maintenance.