Planning to complete next month on a ground floor flat in Westminster. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they are sending me a report tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

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

• You should receive a copy of the lease

Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?

You must be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease

The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.

Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?

The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building

Responsibility for repairing the window frames For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Westminster please enquire of your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Westminster

I today plan to offer on a house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have just been informed that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a leasehold house in Westminster. Conveyancing solicitors have are about to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Westminster ?

Most houses in Westminster are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Westminster so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Westminster conveyancing practitioner and check that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a lessee you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions 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 property is part of an estate. Your conveyancer will report to you on the legal implications.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Westminster. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I work for a long established estate agent office in Westminster where we see a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Westminster conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 buyer.

Completion in due on the sale of our £275000 apartment in Westminster next Friday . The landlords agents has quoted £420 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Westminster?

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

• Completing conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Westminster
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Westminster leasehold premises is £350. For Westminster 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 obliged to provide answers.

My wife and I have hit a brick wall in seeking a lease extension in Westminster. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

in cases where there is a absentee freeholder 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 LVT to calculate the price.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Westminster residence is Flats 12A & 19, Evelyn Mansions Carlisle Place in June 2009. The Tribunal held that the price to be paid for the new lease of Flat 12A is £168,824, For the other flat the price was set at £169,110 This case was in relation to 2 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 56 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Westminster