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Leasehold conveyancing in St Johns is more complex than freehold. Your home move will be smoother where you choose a lawyer with a wealth of experience of leasehold conveyancing in St Johns and throughout next step up in loc. The lawyers we recommend have been approved by your lender so use our search tool to check.

Top Five Questions relating to St Johns leasehold conveyancing

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in St Johns. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in St Johns - 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 want to sublet my leasehold flat in St Johns. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

Your lease dictates the relationship between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will set out if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. The majority of leases in St Johns do not prevent an absolute prevention of subletting – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the flat. In most cases there is a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the tenancy agreement.

I have just appointed agents to market my basement apartment in St Johns.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a quarterly service charge invoice – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is clear the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in St Johns. Conveyancing and Accord Mortgages Ltd mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing practitioner in St Johns who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a St Johns conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in St Johns with the aim of speeding up the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in St Johns can be reduced where you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
  • The majority landlords or managing agents in St Johns charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought 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 delay in leasehold conveyancing in St Johns.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in St Johns state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord consenting to such changes. Where you fail to have the consents in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer before hand.
  • Some St Johns leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of 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 better to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.

    • My wife and I have hit a brick wall in negotiating a lease extension in St Johns. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

    if there is a absentee landlord or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to calculate the price payable.

    An example of a Lease Extension case for a St Johns premises is 73 Walerand Road in August 2012. the result of the findings of the Tribunal led to a premium to be paid for the extended lease in respect of Flat 73 in the sum of £10,040. The premium applicable in respect of Flat 85 was £5,710. This case related to 2 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 72 years.