Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Shirley:

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Recently asked questions relating to Shirley leasehold conveyancing

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Shirley. Before diving in I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Shirley - 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 Sixty One years remaining on my flat in Shirley. I now wish to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. What should I do?

If you qualify, 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 granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to locate the lessor. In some cases a specialist would be useful to try and locate and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Shirley.

I work for a long established estate agency in Shirley where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Shirley conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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 need not have 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 prior to, 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 purchaser.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a Shirley conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Shirley conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you speak with two or three firms including non Shirley conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be of use:

  • How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?
  • What are the charges for lease extension work?

    • Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Shirley from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Shirley can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
    • The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Shirley charge for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Shirley.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Shirley leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. If you fail to have the paperwork to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer before hand.
  • If there is a history of conflict 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 concerned 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 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 will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Arranging a replacement share certificate can be a time consuming formality and slows down many a Shirley home move. Where a duplicate share is required, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

    • I have had difficulty in trying to purchase the freehold in Shirley. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

    Where there is a missing freeholder or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to assess the sum to be paid.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Shirley property is 29 Woodstock Road in April 2014. the Tribunal determined that the premiums to be paid into court in respect of the purchase of the freehold registered at HMLR under Title N0.SY3997 should be £7,217. This case affected 4 flats. The unexpired term was 98 years.