Strawberry Hill leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s
I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Strawberry Hill. Before I get started I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.
Assuming the lease is registered - and most are in Strawberry Hill - 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.
My wife and I may need to rent out our Strawberry Hill basement flat temporarily due to a new job. We instructed a Strawberry Hill conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?
The lease governs relations between the freeholder and you the flat owner; specifically, it will say if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Strawberry Hill do not contain strict prohibition on subletting – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the property. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the sublease.
I have recently realised that I have 72 years remaining on my flat in Strawberry Hill. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?
On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 extended by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to find the freeholder. In some cases a specialist should be useful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document which can be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Strawberry Hill.
I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Strawberry Hill where we see a number of flat sales put at risk due to short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Strawberry Hill conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension process 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 commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. 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 disposal of the property.
Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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 buyer.
All being well we will complete our sale of a £325000 maisonette in Strawberry Hill in 5 days. The management company has quoted £420 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Strawberry Hill?
Strawberry Hill conveyancing on leasehold flats usually necessitates the purchaser’s conveyancer submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to such questions the majority will be content to assist. They may levy a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it is in excess of £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the charge is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that you have little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to complete the sale of your home.
I am the registered owner of a ground-floor 1950’s flat in Strawberry Hill. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the amount payable for the purchase of the freehold?
Where there is a missing landlord or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the LVT to make a decision on the amount due.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Strawberry Hill residence is Ground Floor Flat 91 Bath Road in May 2009. in a case where the freeholder could not be traced, the Brentford County Court ordered that the Lease be surrendered in return for the grant of a new lease of the Premises at a premium determined by the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal. The tribunal concluded that the price payable by the Applicant for the new lease of the premises be £15,900 This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired term was 60.45 years.
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