Experts for Leasehold Conveyancing in New Malden

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Any conveyancing practice can theoretically handle your leasehold conveyancing in New Malden, your mortgage provider may unwilling to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Common questions relating to New Malden leasehold conveyancing

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in New Malden. Before I get started I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in New Malden - 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.

My partner and I may need to let out our New Malden 1st floor flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a New Malden conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your last New Malden conveyancing lawyer is no longer around you can review your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the premises. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to seek permission via your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of first obtaining 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 for their consent.

There are only Fifty years unexpired on my flat in New Malden. I now want to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What should I do?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to locate the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent should be useful to try and locate and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing New Malden.

I am employed by a reputable estate agent office in New Malden where we have witnessed a number of flat sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local New Malden conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start 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 wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 purchaser.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in New Malden from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

  • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in New Malden can be reduced 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 buyers lawyers.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? New Malden leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such works. If you fail to have the consents in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer first.
  • Some New Malden leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. 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. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important 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 will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or settle 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 present the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this via your lawyers. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is below 80 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

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

    You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a New Malden conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension case for a New Malden premises is Flat D 15 Claremont Gardens in September 2013. TheTribunal determined in accordance with section48 and Schedule13 of the Leasehold Reform,Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 that the premium for the extended lease should be fourteen thousand one hundred and eighty seven pounds (£14,187.00) This case related to 1 flat.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in New Malden