Experts for Leasehold Conveyancing in South Tottenham

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in South Tottenham, you will need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Halifax, RBS or Bradford & Bingley make sure you find a lawyer on their panel. Find a South Tottenham conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Questions and Answers: South Tottenham leasehold conveyancing

My fiance and I may need to let out our South Tottenham garden flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We used a South Tottenham conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time seek any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous South Tottenham conveyancing lawyer is not around you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the premises. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you need to obtain permission via your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior consent. The consent should not be unreasonably turned down. If your lease prohibits you from letting out the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

I only have 72 years remaining on my lease in South Tottenham. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to track down the lessor. For most situations an enquiry agent should be useful to carry out a search and prepare a report which can be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing South Tottenham.

Planning to exchange soon on a garden flat in South Tottenham. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they are sending me a report on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

  • You should receive a copy of the lease
  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
  • The total extent of the premises. This will be the flat itself but might include a loft or basement if applicable.
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
  • The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in South Tottenham please enquire of your lawyer in advance of your conveyancing in South Tottenham

    • Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in South Tottenham with the purpose of expediting the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in South Tottenham can be reduced 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’ representatives.
    • The majority landlords or managing agents in South Tottenham levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information 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 usual reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in South Tottenham.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in South Tottenham state that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. Where you fail to have the consents in place do not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer first.
  • Some South Tottenham leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to double-check by asking your solicitors. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is under 80 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you consider 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.

    • I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without success. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such issues? Can you recommend a South Tottenham conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?

    Where there is a missing landlord or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the LVT to judgment on the price payable.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a South Tottenham flat is 22 Wakefield Road in January 2012. Following a vesting order Clerkenwell and Shoreditch County Court under section 26 of the Leasehold Reform,Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 on 9th May 2011 the Tribunal decided that the price that the Applicant for the freehold interest should pay is £17,400 This case related to 2 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 74.13 years.

    What are the common deficiencies that you encounter in leases for South Tottenham properties?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in South Tottenham. All leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the premises
    • Insurance obligations
    • Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
    • Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

    A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Yorkshire Building Society, Barnsley Building Society, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to pull out.