Experts for Leasehold Conveyancing in West Ealing

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Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in West Ealing

I am intending to rent out my leasehold apartment in West Ealing. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

Even though your last West Ealing conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can check your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the premises. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you must obtain permission from your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining consent. Such consent should not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

I have just started marketing my 2 bed apartment in West Ealing.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a yearly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is clear the service charge 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 unless 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 attracted to a two apartments in West Ealing which have approximately fifty years unexpired on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in West Ealing. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As a lease shortens the value of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

I am employed by a long established estate agent office in West Ealing where we have witnessed a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local West Ealing conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in West Ealing with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

  • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in West Ealing can be avoided if you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
  • Many freeholders or managing agents in West Ealing charge for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in West Ealing.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? West Ealing leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord approving such changes. If you dont have the approvals in place do not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor first.
  • If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where a dispute is ongoing. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle 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 details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate is often a time consuming formality and slows down many a West Ealing conveyancing transaction. If a new share certificate is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible.

    • Having spent years of negotiations we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in West Ealing. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

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

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a West Ealing premises is 6 Jessamine Road in August 2013. The Tribunals valuation (as annexed to the decision) calculated the amount payable as £18,355 for the freehold reversion This case affected 2 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 72.39 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in West Ealing