Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Whitton:

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Questions and Answers: Whitton leasehold conveyancing

There are only Fifty years left on my lease in Whitton. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply 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 Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to find the landlord. For most situations an enquiry agent should be useful to conduct investigations and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Whitton.

Due to complete next month on a studio apartment in Whitton. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they are sending me a report next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

  • How long the lease is You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and informed of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
  • Will you be prohibited or prevented from having pets in the property?
  • Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
  • 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 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
  • What options are open to you if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Whitton please ask your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Whitton

    • What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Whitton conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

    If you are instructing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Whitton conveyancing practice) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you speak with two or three firms including non Whitton conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be helpful:

    • What volume of lease extensions have they conducted in Whitton in the last year?
  • What are the charges for lease extension conveyancing?

    • Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Whitton with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Whitton can be avoided if you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate 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 consent? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Whitton state that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord consenting to such works. Where you fail to have the consents to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer in advance.
  • A minority of Whitton leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the annual 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 lawyers.
  • If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.
  • If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Organising a re-issued share certificate is often a lengthy process and delays many a Whitton home move. If a reissued share certificate is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible.

    • Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £450000 maisonette in Whitton next week. The freeholder has quoted £312 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Whitton?

    Whitton conveyancing on leasehold flats often requires the purchaser’s solicitor sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address such questions most will be content to assist. They may levy a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is in excess of £800. The management information fee demanded by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. In reality one has no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to sell the property.

    Having spent months of negotiations we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Whitton. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

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

    An example of a Lease Extension case for a Whitton residence is Ground Floor Flat 91 Bath Road in May 2009. in a case where the freeholder could not be traced, the Brentford County Court ordered that the Lease be surrendered in return for the grant of a new lease of the Premises at a premium determined by the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal. The tribunal concluded that the price payable by the Applicant for the new lease of the premises be £15,900 This case affected 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 60.45 years.