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Common questions relating to Newbury Park leasehold conveyancing

I have recently realised that I have Fifty years left on my lease in Newbury Park. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. For most situations an enquiry agent should be helpful to try and locate and prepare an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Newbury Park.

Expecting to exchange soon on a garden flat in Newbury Park. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they will have a report out to me within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

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

  • The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and informed of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
  • Does the lease prevent you from letting out the flat, or having a home office for business
  • 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
  • The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
  • 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 included in your report on your leasehold property in Newbury Park please ask your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Newbury Park

    • Back In 2001, I bought a leasehold house in Newbury Park. Conveyancing and Skipton Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing solicitor in Newbury Park who previously acted has now retired.Any advice?

    The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Newbury Park conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

    I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Newbury Park which have in the region of 50 years remaining on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

    There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Newbury Park is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the value of the premises. The majority of purchasers and lenders, leases with under eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of property with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Newbury Park conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

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

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Newbury Park can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
    • If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Newbury Park leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. Should you dont have the consents to hand do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in advance.
  • Some Newbury Park 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 should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the yearly 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 lawyers.
  • If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is unsettled. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Organising a re-issued share certificate is often a lengthy process and frustrates many a Newbury Park home move. If a reissued share certificate is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this as soon as possible.

    • I inherited a first flat in Newbury Park. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the premium due for a lease extension?

    in cases where there is a absentee freeholder or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the LVT to judgment on the price.

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

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Newbury Park