Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in White City:

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Top Five Questions relating to White City leasehold conveyancing

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in White City. Before I get started I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in White City - 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.

I would like to rent out my leasehold apartment in White City. 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 previous White City conveyancing lawyer is not available you can review your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to seek consent via your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. This means that you cannot sublet without prior permission. Such consent should not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Due to exchange soon on a studio apartment in White City. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they report fully within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in White City should include some of the following:

  • The total extent of the premises. This will be the flat itself but might incorporate a roof space or basement if appropriate.
  • Setting out your legal entitlements in relation to common areas in the building.E.G., does the lease contain a right of way over an accessway or hallways?
  • Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
  • 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. For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in White City please ask your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in White City

    • Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in White City. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

    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 be sure 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).

    Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in White City from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in White City can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
    • If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in White City state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord approving such changes. Where you fail to have the consents to hand you should not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer first.
  • Some White City leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet 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 purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this by asking your solicitors. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is below 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • We have reached the end of our tether in trying to purchase the freehold in White City. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

    You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a White City conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a White City premises is 23 & 23A Collingbourne Road in June 2013. Tribunal was dealing with the assessment of the value of the freehold reversion and determination of the terms of the acquisition pursuant to an Order of District Judge Lightman dated 25 February 2013 vesting the freehold interest in the property in the applicant. The tribunal assessed the price of the freehold (to which any arrears or other sums due to the missing landlord under the leases should be added) at £81,638. This case related to 2 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 64.5 years.