Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Pimlico:

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Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in Pimlico

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Pimlico. Conveyancing and Santander mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing practitioner in Pimlico who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Pimlico conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note 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.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Pimlico. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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).

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Pimlico where we see a few flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Pimlico conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.

What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a Pimlico conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Pimlico conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you speak with two or three firms including non Pimlico conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be useful:

  • If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?
  • How many lease extensions has the firm conducted in Pimlico in the last twenty four months?

    • Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Pimlico with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Pimlico can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
    • 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 Pimlico state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord approving such alterations. Should you dont have the consents in place you should not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer before hand.
  • Some Pimlico leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should ensure that you have the original share certificate. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate is often a lengthy formality and delays many a Pimlico conveyancing deal. Where a reissued share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left 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 to exchange contracts if the lease term is less than 80 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • Following years of negotiations we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Pimlico. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

    if there is a missing landlord or where there is dispute 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 assess the amount due.

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Pimlico property is Flats 12A & 19, Evelyn Mansions Carlisle Place in June 2009. The Tribunal held that the price to be paid for the new lease of Flat 12A is £168,824, For the other flat the price was set at £169,110 This case was in relation to 2 flats. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 56 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Pimlico