Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in New Southgate:

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While any conveyancing solicitor can theoretically deal with your leasehold conveyancing in New Southgate, your mortgage provider may unwilling to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in New Southgate

My husband and I may need to sub-let our New Southgate 1st floor flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We used a New Southgate conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Some leases for properties in New Southgate do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord cannot unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to see references. Experience dictates 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.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 68 years unexpired on my flat in New Southgate. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What should I do?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have used your best endeavours to track down the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent should be useful to carry out a search and prepare a report to be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering New Southgate.

Looking forward to complete next month on a studio apartment in New Southgate. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they will have a report out to me on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

  • You should be sent a copy of the lease
  • Setting out your rights in respect of common areas in the block.For instance, does the lease provide for a right of way over an accessway or staircase?
  • Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?
  • Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
  • I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?
  • 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 Southgate please ask your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in New Southgate

    • I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to meet my requirements, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently found out that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in New Southgate. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

    Most houses in New Southgate are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in New Southgate in which case you should be shopping around for a New Southgate conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the freeholder’sconsent to conduct alterations. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your solicitor should appraise you on the various issues.

    Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in New Southgate from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in New Southgate can be reduced where you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
    • A minority of New Southgate leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any 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 freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Organising a re-issued share certificate can be a lengthy formality and delays many a New Southgate conveyancing deal. If a reissued share is needed, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to verify this by asking your lawyers. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage 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.

    • Having spent months of correspondence we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in New Southgate. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

    Most definitely. We are happy to put you in touch with a New Southgate conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a New Southgate residence is 23 Beaconsfield Road in July 2013. The Tribunals decided that the amount payable was £31,203 for the freehold. This case affected 2 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 70.31 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in New Southgate