Guaranteed fixed fees for Leasehold Conveyancing in Romford

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

Recently asked questions relating to Romford leasehold conveyancing

Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Romford. Before diving in I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is registered - and almost all are in Romford - 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.

Looking forward to sign contracts shortly on a leasehold property in Romford. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they report fully next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Romford should include some of the following:

  • You should be sent a copy of the lease
  • Will you be prohibited or prevented from having pets in the property?
  • You need to be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
  • An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
  • Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
  • The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Romford please enquire of your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Romford

    • Back In 2005, I bought a leasehold flat in Romford. Conveyancing and Bank of Scotland mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in Romford who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

    The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to be sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Romford conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured 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.

    I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Romford where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Romford conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

    Provided that 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. This means that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

    An alternative approach is 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 purchaser.

    Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Romford from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

    • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Romford can be reduced where you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
    • Many freeholders or managing agents in Romford levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Romford.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Romford state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord consenting to such changes. Should you dont have the consents in place do not contact the landlord without contacting your solicitor in advance.
  • If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge 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 better to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Arranging a replacement share certificate is often a time consuming process and frustrates many a Romford conveyancing transaction. Where a reissued share certificate is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

    • I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord to extend my lease without success. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal decide on such issues? Can you recommend a Romford conveyancing firm to help?

    if there is a missing freeholder 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 make a decision on the sum to be paid.

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Romford residence 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 related to 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 57.5 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Romford