Guaranteed fixed fees for Leasehold Conveyancing in Old Oak Common

Get a Quote

Whether you are buying or selling leasehold flat in Old Oak Common, our panel of leasehold conveyancing experts will help you move with as little stress as possible. Find a Old Oak Common conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Questions and Answers: Old Oak Common leasehold conveyancing

There are only Fifty years unexpired on my flat in Old Oak Common. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What should I do?

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 an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to find the freeholder. For most situations a specialist may be useful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Old Oak Common.

Looking forward to complete next month on a studio apartment in Old Oak Common. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they will have a report out to me on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

  • You should be sent a copy of the lease
  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
  • The physical extent of the demise. This will be the apartment itself but could also include a loft or basement if applicable.
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
  • An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Old Oak Common please enquire of your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Old Oak Common

    • I’m about to sell my 2 bed flat in Old Oak Common.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a yearly service charge demand – Do I pay up?

    The sensible thing to do is discharge 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 management companies 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.

    My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Old Oak Common. Conveyancing and Bank of Ireland mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing practitioner in Old Oak Common who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

    First make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Old Oak Common conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

    Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Old Oak Common. Am I liable to pay 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. However, 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 ensure 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).

    I inherited a ground floor flat in Old Oak Common. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the premium due for the purchase of the freehold?

    if there is a absentee freeholder or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to decide the amount due.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Old Oak Common premises 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 affected 2 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 68.47 years.