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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Swiss Cottage, you will need to instruct a conveyancing practitioner with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Halifax, RBS or NatWest make sure you find a lawyer on their panel. Find a Swiss Cottage conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Top Five Questions relating to Swiss Cottage leasehold conveyancing

I am intending to sublet my leasehold flat in Swiss Cottage. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Notwithstanding that your last Swiss Cottage conveyancing lawyer is not available you can check your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to seek consent from your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior permission. Such consent should not be unreasonably turned down. If your lease prohibits you from letting out the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I today plan to offer on a house that seems to meet my requirements, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently discovered that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in Swiss Cottage. Conveyancing advisers have not yet been appointed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Swiss Cottage ?

The majority of houses in Swiss Cottage are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Swiss Cottage in which case you should be shopping around for a Swiss Cottage conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the freeholder’spermission to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your conveyancer will appraise you on the various issues.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Swiss Cottage. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a Swiss Cottage conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Swiss Cottage conveyancing firm) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you speak with two or three firms including non Swiss Cottage conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be helpful:

  • If they are not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?
  • What are the charges for lease extension conveyancing?

    • Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Swiss Cottage from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Swiss Cottage can be avoided 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 freeholders or Management Companies in Swiss Cottage charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Swiss Cottage.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Swiss Cottage leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such works. If you dont have the consents to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor before hand.
  • A minority of Swiss Cottage leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is unresolved. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.

    • Notwithstanding our best efforts, we have been unsuccessful in trying to purchase the freehold in Swiss Cottage. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

    You certainly can. We are happy to put you in touch with a Swiss Cottage conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Swiss Cottage residence is First Floor Flat 20 Fitzjohns Avenue in July 2014. the Tribunal decided that the premiums to be paid for new leases in respect of the Raised Ground Floor Flat and the First Floor Flat were to be calculated as: Raised Ground Floor: £765,175.14 First Floor: £601,617.77 This case was in relation to 2 flats. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 16.83 and 16.43.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Swiss Cottage