Leasehold Conveyancing in Old Oak Common - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Old Oak Common, you will need to chose a conveyancing solicitor with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Halifax, Birmingham Midshires or Bradford & Bingley make sure you choose a lawyer on their panel. Feel free to use our search tool

Frequently asked questions relating to Old Oak Common leasehold conveyancing

I am intending to let out my leasehold flat in Old Oak Common. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Some leases for properties in Old Oak Common do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to review 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.

I am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in Old Oak Common. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they report fully tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Old Oak Common should include some of the following:

  • You should receive a copy of the lease
  • Setting out your legal entitlements in respect of common areas in the block.For instance, does the lease contain a right of way over a path or staircase?
  • Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?
  • The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Old Oak Common please ask your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Old Oak Common

    • I've recently bought a leasehold house in Old Oak Common. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

    Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

    If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

    What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Old Oak Common conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

    When appointing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Old Oak Common conveyancing firm) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you speak with two or three firms including non Old Oak Common conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be of use:

    • What volume of lease extensions have they completed in Old Oak Common in the last year?
  • Can they put you in touch with client in Old Oak Common who can give a testimonial?

    • Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Old Oak Common with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Old Oak Common can be avoided if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
    • The majority landlords or managing agents in Old Oak Common charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Old Oak Common.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Old Oak Common state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. Where you fail to have the consents in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in advance.
  • Some Old Oak Common leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 lawyers.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 unsettled.

    • My wife and I have hit a brick wall in trying to purchase the freehold in Old Oak Common. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

    Where there is a absentee freeholder or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to judgment on the premium.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Old Oak Common property is 49 Long Drive in March 2014. The tribunal concluded that the price payable for the freehold interest in the Property should be £26,491 divided as to £12,546 in respect of the ground floor flat and £13,945 in respect of the first floor flat This case was in relation to 2 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 68.47 years.