I today plan to offer on a house that appears to be perfect, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have just found out that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Walworth. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Walworth are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Walworth so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Walworth conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. First 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 will likely included provisions for example obtaining the landlord’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your conveyancer should report to you on the legal implications.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Walworth. Conveyancing and Nationwide Building Society mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing solicitor in Walworth who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

First contact the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Walworth conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am looking at a couple of maisonettes in Walworth both have approximately fifty years unexpired on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

A lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease shortens the marketability of the lease reduces and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies may be reluctant to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Walworth from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Walworth can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Walworth leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Should you dont have the paperwork in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your solicitor in advance.

A minority of Walworth 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. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying 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 lawyers.

If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride 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 will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.

You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to verify this by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is below 80 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £475000 garden flat in Walworth in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £300 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Walworth?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Walworth conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Answering pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Walworth
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Walworth leasehold property is £350. For Walworth conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to provide the information.

I inherited a second floor flat in Walworth. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the amount payable for the purchase of the freehold?

Where there is a missing landlord or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to calculate the premium.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Walworth residence is 28 Valmar Road in June 2013. this was a case with an absentee freeholder. As a result the leaseholders applied to the Lambeth County Court for an order dispensing with the giving of a notice of claim. On 25 April 2013 District Judge Zimmels made a vesting order and directed that the matter should be transferred to this tribunal to determine the premium. The tribunal concluded on a fi
gure of £1,125 This case affected 3 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 968 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Walworth