Questions and Answers: Rayners Lane leasehold conveyancing
There are only 62 years left on my lease in Rayners Lane. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?
If 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 mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent would be helpful to try and locate and prepare a report which can be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Rayners Lane.
I have just appointed agents to market my basement apartment in Rayners Lane.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a quarterly service charge demand – Do I pay up?
Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay the service charge 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 until 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.
I've found a house that seems to meet my requirements, at a reasonable price which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently been informed that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a leasehold house in Rayners Lane. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?
Most houses in Rayners Lane are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Rayners Lane in which case you should be shopping around for a Rayners Lane conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions for example obtaining the landlord’sconsent to conduct changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your solicitor will report to you on the legal implications.
I've recently bought a leasehold house in Rayners Lane. Do I have any liability for 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. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element 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 reputable estate agent office in Rayners Lane where we see a few flat sales put at risk due to short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Rayners Lane conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?
As long as the seller has been the owner 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 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 simultaneously with completion of the sale.
An alternative approach is 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.
I am the leaseholder of a ground flat in Rayners Lane. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the premium due for a lease extension?
in cases where there is a absentee landlord or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to assess the amount due.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Rayners Lane property is GFF 1 Holyrood Avenue in May 2014. The Tenant wished to acquire a new (extended) lease and applied to the Willesden County Court who granted a vesting order on 20* March2013. The Tribunal decied that the premium to be paid was £9,062 This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 79 years.
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