Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Stamford Hill:

Get a Quote

Whether you are buying or selling leasehold flat in Stamford Hill, our panel of leasehold conveyancing experts will help you move with as little stress as possible. Find a Stamford Hill conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Common questions relating to Stamford Hill leasehold conveyancing

There are only Fifty years unexpired on my lease in Stamford Hill. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent would be useful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document to be used as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Stamford Hill.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Stamford Hill. Conveyancing and Virgin Money mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing practitioner in Stamford Hill who previously acted has now retired.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Stamford Hill conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Stamford Hill where we have experienced a number of flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Stamford Hill conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done 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.

What are your top tips when it comes to appointing a Stamford Hill conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Stamford Hill conveyancing firm) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Stamford Hill conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be of use:

  • How familiar is the firm with lease extension legislation?
  • What are the charges for lease extension conveyancing?

    • Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Stamford Hill from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Stamford Hill can be reduced if you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
    • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Stamford Hill leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. Should you dont have the paperwork in place do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer before hand.
  • If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where a dispute is unsettled. 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 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 present the dispute as over rather than unresolved.
  • If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Obtaining a new share certificate can be a lengthy process and frustrates many a Stamford Hill home move. If a new share certificate is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should double-check by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is less than 80 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • We have reached the end of our tether in trying to reach an agreement for a lease extension in Stamford Hill. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

    Most certainly. We are happy to put you in touch with a Stamford Hill conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Stamford Hill flat is Flat 25, Stamford Hill Mansions Stamford Hill in April 2010. The Tribunal therefore determined that the premium to be paid by the lessee to the freeholder for the extension of the lease should be £28,984.00 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 59 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Stamford Hill