Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Tottenham:

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While any conveyancing practice can theoretically handle your leasehold conveyancing in Tottenham, your mortgage provider may not be willing to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Top Five Questions relating to Tottenham leasehold conveyancing

Jane (my partner) and I may need to sub-let our Tottenham ground floor flat temporarily due to a new job. We instructed a Tottenham conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have closed 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?

Notwithstanding that your previous Tottenham conveyancing solicitor is not available you can check your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the lease is silent, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to obtain consent from your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet without prior permission. Such consent must not not be unreasonably turned down. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 68 years unexpired on my lease in Tottenham. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What are my options?

If 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 lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to find the freeholder. On the whole a specialist would be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document which can be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Tottenham.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Tottenham. Conveyancing and Godiva Mortgages Ltd mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing solicitor in Tottenham who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Tottenham conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

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

  • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Tottenham can be avoided where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
  • Many landlords or managing agents in Tottenham 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 as soon as you have 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 Tottenham.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Tottenham leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. Should you dont have the consents to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer before hand.
  • If there is a history of any disputes 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 warry about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate can be a lengthy process and slows down many a Tottenham home move. Where a reissued share certificate is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

    • Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £300000 garden flat in Tottenham next week. The freeholder has quoted £372 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Tottenham?

    Tottenham conveyancing on leasehold apartments often necessitates the purchaser’s lawyer sending questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address such questions the majority will be willing to assist. They may charge a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it exceeds £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of rights and obligations in relation to administration charges, without which the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality one has no option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to sell the property.

    I have had difficulty in trying to reach an agreement for a lease extension in Tottenham. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

    You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a Tottenham conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Tottenham property is 30 Strode Road in June 2013. Following a vesting order by Edmonton County Court on 20th February 2013 the Tribunal arrived at a valuation for enfranchisement of £10,256 for the premises (£4,074 for the Ground Floor Flat and £6182 for the First Floor Flat) and £100 for the appurtenant land. This case related to 2 flats. The unexpired lease term was 83.33 and 77.3.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Tottenham