Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Park Royal:

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Frequently asked questions relating to Park Royal leasehold conveyancing

My partner and I may need to sub-let our Park Royal basement flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Park Royal conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

A lease dictates relations between the landlord and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will say if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. The majority of leases in Park Royal do not contain subletting altogether – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the flat. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the sublease.

I have recently realised that I have 62 years unexpired on my flat in Park Royal. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. 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 an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to find the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent would be helpful to try and locate and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Park Royal.

I am looking at a two maisonettes in Park Royal both have about forty five years remaining on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Park Royal. The lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease shortens the value of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Park Royal from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

  • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Park Royal can be avoided if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
  • The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Park Royal levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Park Royal.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Park Royal state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord approving such alterations. Where you fail to have the paperwork to hand you should not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer first.
  • Some Park Royal 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 bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 purchasers or their solicitors.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check via your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is below 75 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • We expect to complete our sale of a £250000 flat in Park Royal on Thursday in a week. The management company has quoted £360 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Park Royal?

    Park Royal conveyancing on leasehold flats more often than not involves the purchaser’s lawyer submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address such questions the majority will be content to do so. They may invoice a reasonable administration fee for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it is in excess of £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that you have no option but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to sell the property.

    After years of correspondence we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Park Royal. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

    Most certainly. We can put you in touch with a Park Royal conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Park Royal flat is 99 Connell Crescent in May 2013. the Tribunal held that the relevant sum for the purposes of the lease extension should be £72,566 to be paid by the leaseholder This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 28.42 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Park Royal