Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Woodford Green. Before I get started I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is registered - and almost all are in Woodford Green - 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 want to rent out my leasehold apartment in Woodford Green. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Even though your last Woodford Green conveyancing lawyer is not around you can review your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to seek permission via your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior consent. The consent should not be unreasonably withheld. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Woodford Green. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

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. 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).

We expect to complete our sale of a £450000 apartment in Woodford Green in just under a week. The management company has quoted £348 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Woodford Green?

Woodford Green conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes nine out of ten times involves fees being invoiced by landlords agents :

• Completing conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Woodford Green
• 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 solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Woodford Green leasehold property is £350. For Woodford Green 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 required to supply the information.

After years of dialogue we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Woodford Green. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

if there is a absentee freeholder or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to assess the premium.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Woodford Green flat is 201 & 201a St. Barnabas Road in October 2013. The Tribunal decided that the price to be paid by the Applicants for the freehold interest is £20,071. This case was in relation to 2 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 69.26 years.

Are there common defects that you witness in leases for Woodford Green properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Woodford Green is not unique. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the property
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You could have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Birmingham Midshires, The Mortgage Works, and Aldermore all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Woodford Green