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Leasehold conveyancing in Willesden is more complex than freehold. Your home move will be smoother where you choose a lawyer with a wealth of experience of leasehold conveyancing in Willesden and throughout next step up in loc. The lawyers we recommend have been approved by your lender so use our search tool to check.

Top Five Questions relating to Willesden leasehold conveyancing

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

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Willesden - 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.

Helen (my wife) and I may need to sub-let our Willesden ground floor flat temporarily due to a new job. We instructed a Willesden conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Some leases for properties in Willesden do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord cannot unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to see references. Experience dictates that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting permission.

I am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a leasehold property in Willesden. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they will have a report out to me tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

  • You should be sent a copy of the lease
  • The total extent of the demise. This will be the apartment itself but could also incorporate a loft or basement if appropriate.
  • Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?
  • Does the lease prevent you from letting out the property, or working from home
  • You should be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
  • Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Willesden please enquire of your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Willesden

    • I am employed by a long established estate agency in Willesden where we see a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Willesden conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

    Provided that 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 proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

    An alternative approach is 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.

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

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Willesden can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
    • Many freeholders or Management Companies in Willesden charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Willesden.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Willesden leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such works. Should you dont have the consents in place you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your lawyer in the first instance.
  • If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. 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 discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should double-check via your solicitors. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is under 80 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • I am the leaseholder of a two-bedroom flat in Willesden. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the amount payable for the purchase of the freehold?

    in cases where there is a missing landlord or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to judgment on the amount due.

    An example of a lease Extension case for a Willesden property is First Floor Flat 47 Huddlestone Road in December 2010. the Tribunal a valuation of £13,000 for a lease extension having been asked to consider the premium following a vesting order being granted by Willesden County Court On 14th September 2009 This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 71.87 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Willesden