Quality lawyers for Leasehold Conveyancing in Seven Kings

Get a Quote

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

Common questions relating to Seven Kings leasehold conveyancing

Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Seven Kings. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Seven Kings - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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 am attracted to a couple of apartments in Seven Kings both have in the region of fifty years remaining on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Seven Kings is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the salability of the premises. The majority of purchasers and lenders, leases with less than 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of property with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Seven Kings conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Seven Kings where we see a few flat sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Seven Kings conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser 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 prior to, or simultaneously with 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.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Seven Kings with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Seven Kings can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers lawyers.
  • Many freeholders or Management Companies in Seven Kings levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Seven Kings.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Seven Kings state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. If you dont have the approvals to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your lawyer in the first instance.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing 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 the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of 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 clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
  • If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate is often a lengthy process and slows down many a Seven Kings conveyancing deal. Where a reissued share is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

    • Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £300000 garden flat in Seven Kings next Thursday . The landlords agents has quoted £312 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Seven Kings?

    Seven Kings conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes more often than not requires the purchaser’s conveyancer submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address such questions the majority will be willing to assist. They are entitled levy a reasonable administration fee for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it is above £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that one has no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

    Following years of correspondence we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Seven Kings. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

    if there is a missing landlord or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to arrive at the amount due.

    An example of a Lease Extension case for a Seven Kings premises is 49 Aldborough Road South in July 2012. The Tribunal decided that the premium payable for the grant of the new lease was £13,925 This case affected 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 61.36 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Seven Kings