Experts for Leasehold Conveyancing in West Brompton

While any conveyancing practice can theoretically deal with your leasehold conveyancing in West Brompton, 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: West Brompton leasehold conveyancing

I would like to sublet my leasehold apartment in West Brompton. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?

Notwithstanding that your last West Brompton conveyancing solicitor is not around you can check your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The rule is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to seek consent via your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet without prior consent. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably withheld. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Sixty One years remaining on my lease in West Brompton. I now want to get lease extension but my landlord 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 submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to find the lessor. For most situations an enquiry agent would be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering West Brompton.

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to be perfect, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have since found out that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in West Brompton. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in West Brompton are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in West Brompton so you should seriously consider shopping around for a West Brompton conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the freeholder’sconsent to conduct alterations. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your conveyancer should advise you fully on all the issues.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in West Brompton. Conveyancing and Leeds Building Society mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing solicitor in West Brompton who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a West Brompton conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note 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 have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without any joy. Can I apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a West Brompton conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?

Where there is a missing landlord or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to assess the amount due.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a West Brompton flat is 5 Wetherby Gardens in June 2014. the Tribunal concluded that the price to be paid for the freehold of the property was £2,369,452. This case affected 5 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 38.98 years.

What are the frequently found deficiencies that you come across in leases for West Brompton properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in West Brompton. Most leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain provisions are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

  • Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
  • 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 could have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Leeds Building Society, and Alliance & Leicester all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to pull out.