Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Peckham:

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Peckham, you will need to appoint a conveyancing solicitor with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Halifax, Yorkshire Building Society or NatWest be sure to find a lawyer on their approved list. Feel free to use our search tool

Top Five Questions relating to Peckham leasehold conveyancing

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Peckham. Before diving in I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Peckham - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to meet my requirements, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have since found out that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues purchasing a leasehold house in Peckham. Conveyancing solicitors have not yet been instructed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Peckham are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Peckham in which case you should be looking for a Peckham conveyancing practitioner and check that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions for example obtaining the freeholder’spermission to conduct changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your lawyer will report to you on the legal implications.

Back In 2003, I bought a leasehold house in Peckham. Conveyancing and Alliance & Leicester mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing solicitor in Peckham who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Peckham conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Peckham from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

  • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Peckham can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers representatives.
  • The majority landlords or Management Companies in Peckham levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Peckham.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Peckham state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. If you fail to have the consents in place you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor first.
  • A minority of Peckham leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your solicitors. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is less than 75 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £325000 flat in Peckham next week. The landlords agents has quoted £336 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Peckham?

    Peckham conveyancing on leasehold apartments more often than not involves the buyer’s solicitor submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address such questions most will be willing to do so. They may invoice a reasonable charge for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it exceeds £800. The management information fee invoiced by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of rights and obligations in respect of administration charges, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. In reality one has no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

    I have given up trying to reach an agreement for a lease extension in Peckham. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

    if there is a missing freeholder or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to calculate the price.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Peckham property is 31 Kings Grove in January 2012. By a claim form issued on 11" August 2011 under action number 1LB01618 in the Lambeth County Court the applicant tenants sought dispensation under section 26 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 from the requirement to serve a notice under section 13 of that Act in order to purchase the freehold of the premises. The Tribunal decided the amount payable for the freehold as £10,728 This case was in relation to 2 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 80.5 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Peckham