Frequently asked questions relating to West Ham leasehold conveyancing
I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in West Ham. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.
Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in West Ham - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.
My partner and I may need to let out our West Ham basement flat temporarily due to a new job. We used a West Ham conveyancing practice in 2001 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?
The lease governs relations between the landlord and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will say if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in West Ham do not contain an absolute prevention of subletting – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the flat. In most cases there is a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.
I only have 68 years unexpired on my flat in West Ham. I need to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What options are available to me?
On the basis that you qualify, 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 mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent may be useful to carry out a search and to produce a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering West Ham.
Looking forward to exchange soon on a leasehold property in West Ham. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they are sending me a report tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?
Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in West Ham should include some of the following:
- Defining your legal entitlements in relation to common areas in the block.E.G., does the lease grant a right of way over a path or hallways?
I own a leasehold house in West Ham. Conveyancing and Barclays Direct mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing practitioner in West Ham who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?
The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a West Ham conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.
Following years of correspondence we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in West Ham. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?
in cases where there is a missing freeholder or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to judgment on the price payable.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a West Ham premises is 46 Credon Road in January 2014. On 11 September 2013 Deputy District Judge Price sitting at the Bow County Court made a vesting order that the freeholder surrender his lease and be granted a new lease of the Premises on such terms as may be determined by the First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber).The appropriate sum as concluded by the Tribunal was £7225 This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 69.77 years.
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