Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Romford:

Get a Quote

Whether you are buying or selling leasehold flat in Romford, our panel of leasehold conveyancing experts will help you move with as little stress as possible. Find a Romford conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Romford leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

I am intending to sublet my leasehold flat in Romford. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?

A small minority of properties in Romford do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to review references. Experience dictates that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting consent.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 68 years left on my flat in Romford. I am keen to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What should I do?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to find the lessor. On the whole a specialist may be useful to conduct investigations and prepare a report which can be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Romford.

I work for a reputable estate agent office in Romford where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Romford conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension process 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 start 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 has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 buyer.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Romford with the intention of expediting the sale process?

  • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Romford can be avoided if you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
  • Many landlords or Management Companies in Romford levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Romford.
  • Some Romford leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet 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 solicitors.
  • If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. 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 buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable verify this via your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is under 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • We expect to complete the sale of our £500000 maisonette in Romford next week. The landlords agents has quoted £312 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Romford?

    Romford conveyancing on leasehold apartments more often than not necessitates the purchaser’s conveyancer sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer these enquiries the majority will be content to do so. They are at liberty charge a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it exceeds £800. The administration charge invoiced by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the charge is technically not due. In reality you have no choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to complete the sale of your home.

    Following years of dialogue we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Romford. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

    if there is a missing landlord or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to assess the price.

    An example of a Lease Extension case for a Romford premises is 37 Lodge Court High Street in November 2013. the decision of the LVT was that the premium to be paid for the new lease was £25,559 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 57.5 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Romford