I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Newington. Before I get started I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

If the lease is registered - and almost all are in Newington - 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.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 68 years left on my flat in Newington. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What should I do?

If 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 an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the freeholder. For most situations an enquiry agent would be useful to carry out a search and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Newington.

I am employed by a busy estate agency in Newington where we have witnessed a number of flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Newington conveyancing firms. Can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start 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 to extend their lease. 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 sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 buyer.

Completion in due on the sale of our £175000 maisonette in Newington in just under a week. The management company has quoted £372 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Newington?

Newington conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually involves the purchaser’s lawyer submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address these enquiries the majority will be willing to assist. They are entitled levy a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is in excess of £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the charge is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that you have little option but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to complete the sale of your home.

Having spent months of correspondence we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Newington. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

Where there is a missing landlord or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to decide the price.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Newington property is 1-41 Royal Tower Lodge 40 Cartwright Street in April 2013. the tribunal adding the agreed value of capitalised ground rents and the reversion the price to be paid for the freehold was £1,187,000 This case was in relation to 41 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 107 years.

What are the common defects that you see in leases for Newington properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Newington is not unique. All leases are unique and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain provisions are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You may have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Lloyds TSB Bank, Skipton Building Society, and Britannia all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Newington