Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Tufnell Park:

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

Questions and Answers: Tufnell Park leasehold conveyancing

Looking forward to complete next month on a basement flat in Tufnell Park. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they report fully tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Tufnell Park should include some of the following:

  • The total extent of the demise. This will be the property itself but might include a loft or basement if appropriate.
  • You must be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
  • 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
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Tufnell Park please enquire of your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Tufnell Park

    • I am looking at a couple of apartments in Tufnell Park both have in the region of 50 years remaining on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

    A lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As a lease shortens the marketability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We advise that you seek professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

    Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Tufnell Park. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

    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. However, 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).

    Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Tufnell Park from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Tufnell Park can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers lawyers.
    • The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Tufnell Park charge for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Tufnell Park.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Tufnell Park state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such works. If you fail to have the paperwork in place do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your lawyer in advance.
  • If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing 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 ongoing.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable verify this by asking your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is under 75 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • Following years of correspondence we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Tufnell Park. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

    Most certainly. We are happy to put you in touch with a Tufnell Park conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Tufnell Park premises is Flat 2 27 Mackeson Road in December 2012. The Tribunal assessed the value of the lease extension premium at £35,435 and rounded the figure to £35,500 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 64.77 years.

    What makes a Tufnell Park lease unacceptable for security purposes?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Tufnell Park. Most leases are individual and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain provisions are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building
    • Insurance obligations
    • Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
    • Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

    You may encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Nationwide Building Society, Barnsley Building Society, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Tufnell Park