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Top Five Questions relating to Tower Hill leasehold conveyancing

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement apartment in Tower Hill.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is clear the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to meet my requirements, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently been informed that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Tower Hill. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Tower Hill ?

The majority of houses in Tower Hill are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Tower Hill in which case you should be shopping around for a Tower Hill conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a lessee you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example obtaining the freeholder’spermission to carry out changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the house is located on an estate. Your conveyancer should report to you on the legal implications.

Back In 2006, I bought a leasehold flat in Tower Hill. Conveyancing and Leeds Building Society mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing practitioner in Tower Hill who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Tower Hill conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I work for a reputable estate agent office in Tower Hill where we have experienced a few flat sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Tower Hill conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease 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 buyer 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 before, or simultaneously with 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.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Tower Hill from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

  • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Tower Hill can be reduced if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
  • The majority freeholders or managing agents in Tower Hill charge for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack 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 Tower Hill.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Tower Hill state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. If you dont have the consents to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer first.
  • Some Tower Hill leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the yearly 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to double-check via your solicitors. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is less than 80 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • I inherited a second floor flat in Tower Hill. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the sum payable for a lease extension?

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

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Tower Hill flat is 1-41 Royal Tower Lodge 40 Cartwright Street in April 2013. the tribunal adding the agreed value of capitalised ground rents and the reversion the price to be paid for the freehold was £1,187,000 This case affected 41 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 107 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Tower Hill