Experts for Leasehold Conveyancing in Southfields

Get a Quote

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Southfields, you will need to appoint a conveyancing solicitor with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Halifax, Yorkshire Building Society or NatWest make sure you find a lawyer on their panel. Find a Southfields conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Top Five Questions relating to Southfields leasehold conveyancing

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Southfields. Before I get started I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Southfields - 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 am intending to let out my leasehold apartment in Southfields. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

A lease dictates the relationship between the landlord and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will indicate if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The rule is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. The majority of leases in Southfields do not contain strict prohibition on subletting – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the flat. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the sublease.

Expecting to complete next month on a ground floor flat in Southfields. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they will have a report out to me tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Southfields should include some of the following:

  • Defining your rights in relation to common areas in the building.For example, does the lease provide for a right of way over an accessway or staircase?
  • You should be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
  • 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.
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Southfields please enquire of your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in Southfields

    • Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Southfields with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

    • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Southfields can be avoided where you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
    • Some Southfields leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should 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 yearly 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 buyers or their solicitors.
  • If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should ensure that you hold the original share document. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate is often a lengthy formality and slows down many a Southfields conveyancing deal. If a reissued share certificate is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should double-check by asking your lawyers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is below 80 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

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

    You certainly can. We are happy to put you in touch with a Southfields conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Southfields premises is 83 Balvernie Grove in February 2012. The Tribunal assessed the price to be paid by the leaseholder to the freeholder for the lease extension pursuant to section 48 of the Leasehold Reform Housing & Urban Development Act 1993 should be£16,603.00 This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired term was 69.32 years.

    What are the common deficiencies that you come across in leases for Southfields properties?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Southfields is not unique. Most leases are individual and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the property
    • Insurance obligations
    • Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
    • Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

    A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Santander, Coventry Building Society, and Barclays Direct 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 purchaser to withdraw.