Leasehold Conveyancing in Temple - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

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Any conveyancing practice can theoretically handle your leasehold conveyancing in Temple, your mortgage provider may unwilling to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Questions and Answers: Temple leasehold conveyancing

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Temple. Before I get started I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Temple - 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.

Frank (my husband) and I may need to sub-let our Temple basement flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Temple conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

A small minority of properties in Temple do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord is not entitled to 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 permission.

Planning to sign contracts shortly on a basement flat in Temple. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they report fully on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Temple should include some of the following:

  • Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?
  • You must be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
  • 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.
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?
  • The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building
  • What you can do if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease?
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Temple please ask your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Temple

    • I've recently bought a leasehold property in Temple. Do I have any liability for 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 owner 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. It is an essential part 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 provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Temple with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Temple can be avoided where 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 buyers conveyancers.
    • The majority landlords or managing agents in Temple levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Temple.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Temple state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. If you fail to have the paperwork in place do not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer before hand.
  • If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where there is a current 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 ahead of 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 better to reveal the dispute as over rather than unresolved.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Organising a re-issued share certificate is often a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Temple conveyancing deal. Where a new share certificate is needed, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

    • I own a first floor flat in Temple. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the sum due for the purchase of the freehold?

    in cases where there is a missing freeholder or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the LVT to determine the price payable.

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Temple premises 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 affected 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 66.8 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Temple