Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in St Pancras:

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While any conveyancing practice can theoretically deal with your leasehold conveyancing in St Pancras, your mortgage provider may unwilling to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Sample questions relating to St Pancras leasehold conveyancing

My partner and I may need to rent out our St Pancras 1st floor flat temporarily due to a new job. We instructed a St Pancras conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

A small minority of properties in St Pancras do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord cannot unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to review references. Experience suggests that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting consent.

I only have Fifty years remaining on my lease in St Pancras. I now want to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, 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 enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to find the freeholder. For most situations an enquiry agent should be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document which can be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing St Pancras.

I am hoping to exchange soon on a leasehold property in St Pancras. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they report fully within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

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

  • The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and informed of the importance of the 80 year mark
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • 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
  • What options are open to you if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in St Pancras please ask your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in St Pancras

    • What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a St Pancras conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

    If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a St Pancras conveyancing firm) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you talk with several firms including non St Pancras conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

    • How many lease extensions has the firm completed in St Pancras in the last year?
  • What are the legal fees for lease extension work?

    • Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in St Pancras with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in St Pancras can be reduced if you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers solicitors.
    • If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in St Pancras state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Where you dont have the paperwork in place do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor in advance.
  • If there is a history of conflict 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 nervous about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to 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 will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing.
  • If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate can be a time consuming formality and slows down many a St Pancras conveyancing deal. If a new share certificate is needed, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this sooner rather than later.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to double-check by asking your lawyers. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • Following years of correspondence we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in St Pancras. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

    if there is a missing landlord or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the LVT to arrive at the premium.

    An example of a Lease Extension case for a St Pancras residence is Flat 89 Trinity Court Grays Inn Road in February 2013. the Tribunal found that the premium to be paid by the tenant on the grant of a new lease, in accordance with section 56 and Schedule 13 to the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 should be £36,229. This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 66.8 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in St Pancras