I've found a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have since discovered that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in South Kensington. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in South Kensington are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in South Kensington in which case you should be looking for a South Kensington conveyancing practitioner and check that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example obtaining the freeholder’sconsent to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your solicitor should report to you on the legal implications.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in South Kensington. Conveyancing and Coventry Building Society mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing practitioner in South Kensington who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a South Kensington conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. You should note 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.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in South Kensington. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, 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).

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in South Kensington from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in South Kensington can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
• The majority freeholders or managing agents in South Kensington charge for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in South Kensington.

In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? South Kensington leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Where you fail to have the approvals to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor in advance.

If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Organising a re-issued share certificate is often a lengthy formality and delays many a South Kensington home move. If a duplicate share certificate is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is under 80 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £200000 flat in South Kensington in just under a week. The freeholder has quoted £336 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in South Kensington?

For most leasehold sales in South Kensington conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Answering pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in South Kensington
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for South Kensington leasehold property is £350. For South Kensington conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to supply the information.

Having spent months of correspondence we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in South Kensington. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

Most definitely. We are happy to put you in touch with a South Kensington conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a South Kensington premises is Flat 16 21/22 Stanhope Gardens in November 2010. the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal concluded that the premium to be paid by the tenant on the grant of a new lease, in accordance with section 56 and Schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993, was £106,975 This case affected 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 51.93 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in South Kensington