I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Newbury Park. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Newbury Park - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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.

I would like to let out my leasehold apartment in Newbury Park. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

Even though your previous Newbury Park conveyancing lawyer is no longer around you can check your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the premises. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to seek consent from your landlord or some other party before subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet without prior consent. Such consent must not not be unreasonably withheld. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord for their consent.

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Newbury Park where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Newbury Park conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that 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. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed 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 purchaser.

We expect to complete our sale of a £450000 apartment in Newbury Park next week. The freeholder has quoted £348 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Newbury Park?

Newbury Park conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally necessitates fees being invoiced by management companies :

• Completing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Newbury Park
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Newbury Park leasehold premises is £350. For Newbury Park conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to supply answers.

Following months of negotiations we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Newbury Park. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

You certainly can. We are happy to put you in touch with a Newbury Park conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Newbury Park residence is 104 Coventry Road in July 2014. The Tribunal determined that the lease extension permium should be £22,896.15 This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 60.29 years.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Newbury Park what are the most frequent lease problems?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Newbury Park. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the property
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You may encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. HSBC Bank, Barnsley Building Society, and Bank of Ireland all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to pull out.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Newbury Park