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Woolwich leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

I am intending to sublet my leasehold apartment in Woolwich. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

A lease governs relations between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will say if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. The majority of leases in Woolwich do not prevent subletting altogether – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the property. In most cases there is a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 72 years remaining on my flat in Woolwich. I now wish to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. What should I do?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to find the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent should be useful to conduct investigations and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Woolwich.

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Woolwich where we see a few flat sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Woolwich conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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 purchaser.

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Woolwich conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Woolwich conveyancing firm) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you talk with several firms including non Woolwich conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be useful:

  • How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?
  • What are the charges for lease extension work?

    • Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Woolwich from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Woolwich can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers conveyancers.
    • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Woolwich leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. Should you dont have the approvals in place do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer in the first instance.
  • Some Woolwich leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet 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 prior to 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 unresolved.
  • If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should ensure that you hold the original share document. Organising a duplicate share certificate can be a time consuming process and slows down many a Woolwich conveyancing deal. Where a duplicate share is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible.

    • I have had difficulty in trying to purchase the freehold in Woolwich. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

    Where there is a absentee freeholder or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the LVT to assess the price payable.

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Woolwich property is 46 Credon Road in January 2014. On 11 September 2013 Deputy District Judge Price sitting at the Bow County Court made a vesting order that the freeholder surrender his lease and be granted a new lease of the Premises on such terms as may be determined by the First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber).The appropriate sum as concluded by the Tribunal was £7225 This case related to 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 69.77 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Woolwich