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Top Five Questions relating to St Luke's leasehold conveyancing

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in St Luke's. Before diving in I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in St Luke's - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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 would like to rent out my leasehold apartment in St Luke's. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Notwithstanding that your previous St Luke's conveyancing lawyer is no longer around you can check your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to seek consent via your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet without prior permission. Such consent should not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Due to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in St Luke's. Conveyancing lawyers inform 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 St Luke's should include some of the following:

  • Setting out your rights in respect of the communal areas in the building.For example, does the lease contain a right of way over an accessway or staircase?
  • You should be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
  • 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
  • What you can do if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease?
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in St Luke's please ask your lawyer in advance of your conveyancing in St Luke's

    • I’m about to sell my 2 bed flat in St Luke's.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a quarterly service charge demand – what should I do?

    The sensible thing to do is discharge 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 unless 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.

    Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in St Luke's with the intention of expediting the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in St Luke's can be reduced if you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
    • Many landlords or managing agents in St Luke's levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in St Luke's.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? St Luke's leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such works. Where you dont have the consents to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer first.
  • Some St Luke's leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
  • If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is unresolved. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or settle 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 details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.

    • I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord to extend my lease without any joy. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal decide on such issues? Can you recommend a St Luke's conveyancing firm to assist?

    You certainly can. We are happy to put you in touch with a St Luke's conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension decision for a St Luke's property is 137 & 139 Haberdasher Street in December 2013. The Tribunal determines in accordance with section 48 and Schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 that the premium for the extended lease for each Property should be £12,350.00. This case affected 2 flats. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 72.39 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in St Luke's