Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in New Malden:

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

New Malden leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

I have recently realised that I have 68 years remaining on my flat in New Malden. I now want to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. What are my options?

If 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 mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the lessor. For most situations a specialist may be useful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document which can be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering New Malden.

Due to exchange soon on a basement flat in New Malden. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they report fully next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
  • The physical extent of the demise. This will be the apartment itself but could also include a loft or basement if applicable.
  • Defining your legal entitlements in relation to the communal areas in the building.E.G., does the lease contain a right of way over an accessway or hallways?
  • 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
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in New Malden please enquire of your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in New Malden

    • I've recently bought a leasehold property in New Malden. 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. 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 provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in New Malden with the intention of expediting the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in New Malden can be reduced where you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
    • If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? New Malden leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord approving such changes. Where you fail to have the approvals to hand you should not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor in the first instance.
  • 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 obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying 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 you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share certificate. Organising a replacement share certificate can be a time consuming formality and slows down many a New Malden conveyancing transaction. If a reissued share is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable verify this via your solicitors. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is under 80 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £400000 garden flat in New Malden on Monday in a week. The managing agents has quoted £324 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in New Malden?

    New Malden conveyancing on leasehold flats more often than not necessitates the purchaser’s conveyancer submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer these enquiries most will be content to do so. They are entitled charge a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it exceeds £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that one has no choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to complete the sale of your home.

    Following years of negotiations we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in New Malden. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

    if there is a missing landlord or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to assess the sum to be paid.

    An example of a Lease Extension case for a New Malden property 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 affected 1 flat.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in New Malden