Experts for Leasehold Conveyancing in Parsons Green

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Leasehold conveyancing in Parsons Green is more complex than freehold. Your home move will be smoother where you choose a lawyer with a wealth of experience of leasehold conveyancing in Parsons Green and throughout next step up in loc. The lawyers we recommend have been approved by your lender so use our search tool to check.

Parsons Green leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

Harry (my fiance) and I may need to rent out our Parsons Green 1st floor flat for a while due to a new job. We instructed a Parsons Green conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

A lease dictates the relationship between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will say if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The rule is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. The majority of leases in Parsons Green do not contain an absolute prevention of subletting – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the flat. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a copy of the sublease.

I’m about to sell my ground floor apartment in Parsons Green.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a yearly service charge invoice – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay the invoice 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 unless 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Parsons Green. Conveyancing and Coventry Building Society mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing solicitor in Parsons Green who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to be sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a Parsons Green conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Parsons Green from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Parsons Green can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Parsons Green state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such alterations. If you fail to have the consents in place do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in the first instance.
  • A minority of Parsons Green leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is unresolved. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. 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 particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Arranging a duplicate share certificate can be a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Parsons Green conveyancing transaction. If a duplicate share certificate is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

    • Despite our best efforts, we have been unsuccessful in trying to purchase the freehold in Parsons Green. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

    in cases where there is a missing landlord or where there is disagreement 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 arrive at the price payable.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Parsons Green flat is 66 and 66a Wardo Avenue in November 2012. The Tribunal determined that the sum of £8,048 is payable by the Applicants in respect of the price for the freehold of the property This case was in relation to 2 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 93 years and 162 years.

    When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Parsons Green what are the most common lease defects?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Parsons Green is not unique. Most leases are individual and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
    • A duty to insure the building
    • A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
    • Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

    You could have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. HSBC Bank, Leeds Building Society, and Britannia all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Parsons Green