Experts for Leasehold Conveyancing in Spitalfields

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Spitalfields, you will need to appoint a conveyancing practitioner with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Halifax, RBS or NatWest be sure to choose a lawyer on their panel. Feel free to use our search tool

Recently asked questions relating to Spitalfields leasehold conveyancing

Looking forward to complete next month on a ground floor flat in Spitalfields. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they report fully tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

  • Defining your rights in respect of common areas in the building.E.G., does the lease grant a right of way over an accessway or staircase?
  • Will you be prohibited or prevented from having pets in the property?
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames
  • What you can do if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease?
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Spitalfields please enquire of your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Spitalfields

    • I own a leasehold house in Spitalfields. Conveyancing and National Westminster Bank mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing solicitor in Spitalfields who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

    First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Spitalfields conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

    I am employed by a busy estate agency in Spitalfields where we have experienced a few flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Spitalfields conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension formalities 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 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 wait 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 at the same time as completion of the sale.

    An alternative approach is 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.

    Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Spitalfields from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Spitalfields can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
    • The majority freeholders or managing agents in Spitalfields charge for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Spitalfields.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Spitalfields leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord consenting to such changes. If you fail to have the consents to hand do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer before hand.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride 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 are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable verify this by asking your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • Having spent years of correspondence we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Spitalfields. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

    if there is a absentee landlord or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to determine the sum to be paid.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Spitalfields flat is 1-41 Royal Tower Lodge 40 Cartwright Street in April 2013. the tribunal adding the agreed value of capitalised ground rents and the reversion the price to be paid for the freehold was £1,187,000 This case was in relation to 41 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 107 years.

    When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Spitalfields what are the most common lease problems?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Spitalfields. All leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
    • 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

    You will have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Santander, Coventry Building Society, and Aldermore all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to withdraw.