Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Purley:

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Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in Purley

Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Purley. Before I get started I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and most are in Purley - 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 have recently realised that I have 72 years left on my lease in Purley. I am keen to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. What are my options?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application 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 prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to locate the lessor. On the whole a specialist would be helpful to try and locate and to produce a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Purley.

Due to complete next month on a garden flat in Purley. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they report fully tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Purley should include some of the following:

  • You should receive a copy of the lease
  • The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and aware of the importance of the 80 year mark
  • Setting out your legal entitlements in relation to common areas in the block.For instance, does the lease include a right of way over an accessway or staircase?
  • Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?
  • Does the lease prevent you from subletting the property, or working from home
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
  • What you can do if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease? For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Purley please ask your lawyer in advance of your conveyancing in Purley

    • My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Purley. Conveyancing and HSBC Bank mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing solicitor in Purley who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

    First contact HMLR to be sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Purley conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

    Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Purley from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Purley can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
    • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Purley leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord approving such changes. Where you fail to have the consents in place do not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor in the first instance.
  • A minority of Purley leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. 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. The 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 buyers or their lawyers.
  • If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over rather than unsettled.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is less than 80 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

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

    if there is a missing landlord or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to assess the amount due.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Purley residence is The Woodlands 95 Purley Park Road in April 2009. The Tribunals own valuation produced the figure of £37,912. This case related to 6 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 78.32 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Purley