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Questions and Answers: New Eltham leasehold conveyancing

I wish to let out my leasehold flat in New Eltham. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Some leases for properties in New Eltham do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to review references. Experience suggests that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting permission.

I am hoping to exchange soon on a ground floor flat in New Eltham. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they are sending me a report next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
  • You should be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
  • An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
  • The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in New Eltham please ask your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in New Eltham

    • Back In 2007, I bought a leasehold house in New Eltham. Conveyancing and Godiva Mortgages Ltd 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 1995. The conveyancing practitioner in New Eltham who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

    First contact HMLR to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a New Eltham conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

    I am employed by a reputable estate agency in New Eltham where we have witnessed a few flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local New Eltham conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the buyer?

    As long as the seller has owned the lease 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 needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

    An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 New Eltham from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in New Eltham can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
    • The majority landlords or managing agents in New Eltham levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in New Eltham.
  • A minority of New Eltham leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The 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 buyers or their lawyers.
  • If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. 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 clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Obtaining a re-issued share certificate is often a time consuming formality and frustrates many a New Eltham home move. Where a reissued share certificate is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

    • I have given up trying to purchase the freehold in New Eltham. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

    Where there is a missing landlord or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the LVT to determine the amount due.

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a New Eltham property is 103a Footscray Road in January 2014. The tribunal determines that the premium payable for the extended lease should be £34,500 according to the expert witness valuation calculation This case affected 1 flat.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in New Eltham