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Any conveyancing practice can theoretically deal with your leasehold conveyancing in West Norwood, your mortgage provider may unwilling to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Top Five Questions relating to West Norwood leasehold conveyancing

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in West Norwood. Before diving in I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in West Norwood - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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.

Harry (my fiance) and I may need to rent out our West Norwood basement flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We used a West Norwood conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous West Norwood conveyancing solicitor is not available you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the premises. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to seek consent from your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior consent. The consent should not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I am hoping to complete next month on a garden flat in West Norwood. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they are sending me a report on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in West Norwood should include some of the following:

  • Setting out your legal entitlements in relation to common areas in the building.E.G., does the lease provide for a right of way over a path or hallways?
  • Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?
  • Does the lease prevent you from renting out the property, or working from home
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?
  • 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 contained in your report on your leasehold property in West Norwood please enquire of your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in West Norwood

    • I’m about to sell my basement flat in West Norwood.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

    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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

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

    • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in West Norwood can be avoided if you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
    • Many landlords or managing agents in West Norwood levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in West Norwood.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? West Norwood leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord approving such works. Where you fail to have the consents in place do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor first.
  • Some West Norwood leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The 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 buyers or their lawyers.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Arranging a replacement share certificate can be a time consuming process and delays many a West Norwood home move. Where a reissued share is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

    • I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord to extend my lease without getting anywhere. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal decide on such issues? Can you recommend a West Norwood conveyancing firm to assist?

    if there is a absentee freeholder or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the LVT to decide the price.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a West Norwood flat is 172 Knollys Road in February 2012. On 13 September 2011 District Judge Guinan made a vesting order and the proceedings were transferred to the tribunal for the purpose of assessing the premium which was subsequently calculated to be £24,003 This case affected 4 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 98.28 for 3 flats other than the garden flat which had 66.04 years remaining.