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Whitechapel leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

My partner and I may need to let out our Whitechapel ground floor flat temporarily due to a new job. We used a Whitechapel conveyancing practice in 2002 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time seek any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Even though your last Whitechapel conveyancing lawyer is not around you can check your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to seek consent from your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of first obtaining consent. The consent should not be unreasonably withheld. If the lease prohibits you from letting out the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Whitechapel. Conveyancing and Halifax mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing practitioner in Whitechapel who previously acted has now retired.Any advice?

First contact HMLR to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Whitechapel conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Whitechapel. 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 lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element 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).

Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a Whitechapel conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Whitechapel conveyancing firm) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Whitechapel conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

  • Can they put you in touch with client in Whitechapel who can give a testimonial?
  • What are the costs for lease extension conveyancing?

    • Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Whitechapel from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Whitechapel can be avoided where you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers solicitors.
    • Many freeholders or Management Companies in Whitechapel charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Whitechapel.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Whitechapel state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. If you dont have the approvals to hand you should not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in advance.
  • If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to double-check via your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the lease term is less than 80 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • I am the leaseholder of a two-bedroom flat in Whitechapel. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the sum due for a lease extension?

    Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Whitechapel conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Whitechapel flat is 1-41 Royal Tower Lodge 40 Cartwright Street in April 2013. the tribunal adding the agreed value of capitalised ground rents and the reversion the price to be paid for the freehold was £1,187,000 This case related to 41 flats. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 107 years.