Leasehold Conveyancing in North Harrow - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in North Harrow, you will need to chose a conveyancing solicitor with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Santander, Birmingham Midshires or Nationwide make sure you find a lawyer on their panel. Feel free to use our search tool

North Harrow leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

I am intending to let out my leasehold apartment in North Harrow. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

The lease governs the relationship between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will say if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The rule is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in North Harrow do not prevent an absolute prevention of subletting – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the property. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a copy of the sublease.

There are only 68 years unexpired on my lease in North Harrow. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, 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 lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you have done all that could be expected to locate the landlord. On the whole a specialist should be helpful to try and locate and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing North Harrow.

I have just started marketing my ground floor flat in North Harrow.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay the service charge as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I today plan to offer on a house that seems to be perfect, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have since 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 North Harrow. Conveyancing advisers have not yet been appointed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in North Harrow ?

Most houses in North Harrow are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in North Harrow so you should seriously consider shopping around for a North Harrow conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the landlord’sconsent to conduct alterations. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your lawyer should report to you on the legal implications.

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £200000 apartment in North Harrow in just under a week. The freeholder has quoted £396 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in North Harrow?

For most leasehold sales in North Harrow conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

  • Addressing conveyancing due diligence enquiries
  • Where consent is required before sale in North Harrow
  • 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 conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for North Harrow leasehold property is £350. For North Harrow 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 required to supply answers.

We have reached the end of our tether in trying to purchase the freehold in North Harrow. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

Where there is a missing freeholder or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to decide the amount due.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a North Harrow premises is flat 93b Welldon Crescent in May 2009. The Tribunals valuation for a 90-year lease extension of this fat was £13,171 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 75.25 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in North Harrow