Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Palmers Green:

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Palmers Green, you will need to chose a conveyancing lawyer with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Lloyds, Yorkshire Building Society or Bradford & Bingley make sure you find a lawyer on their approved list. Find a Palmers Green conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Recently asked questions relating to Palmers Green leasehold conveyancing

I want to let out my leasehold apartment in Palmers Green. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Your lease dictates relations between the freeholder and you the flat owner; specifically, it will set out if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Palmers Green do not contain an absolute prevention of subletting – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the flat. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 68 years unexpired on my lease in Palmers Green. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you have done all that could be expected to find the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent would be useful to carry out a search and to produce a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Palmers Green.

Back In 2007, I bought a leasehold flat in Palmers Green. Conveyancing and Accord Mortgages Ltd mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing practitioner in Palmers Green who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Palmers Green conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Palmers Green. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before 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 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).

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Palmers Green from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

  • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Palmers Green can be reduced where you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation 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? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Palmers Green state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord approving such changes. Should you dont have the consents in place you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer first.
  • A minority of Palmers Green leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
  • If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to double-check by asking your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is below 75 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord for a lease extension without any joy. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such matters? Can you recommend a Palmers Green conveyancing firm to help?

    You certainly can. We are happy to put you in touch with a Palmers Green conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Palmers Green property is First Floor Flat 109 Lyndhurst Road in May 2010. Following a vesting order by Edmonton County Court on 29th October 2009 the Tribunal decided on a figure of £5,012 for a lease extension. This case was in relation to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 81.79 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Palmers Green