Experts for Leasehold Conveyancing in Longbenton

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Longbenton leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Longbenton. Before I get started I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Longbenton - 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.

My fiance and I may need to rent out our Longbenton basement flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Longbenton conveyancing firm in 2002 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Some leases for properties in Longbenton do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord cannot unreasonably withhold but, in such cases, they would need to review references. Experience suggests 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 consent.

Planning to sign contracts shortly on a basement flat in Longbenton. Conveyancing lawyers 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 Longbenton should include some of the following:

  • Defining your legal entitlements in relation to the communal areas in the building.By way of example, does the lease grant a right of way over a path or hallways?
  • Does the lease prevent you from subletting the property, or having a home office for business
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
  • An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice? For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Longbenton please ask your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Longbenton

    • Back In 2003, I bought a leasehold flat in Longbenton. Conveyancing and TSB mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing solicitor in Longbenton who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

    First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Longbenton conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

    I am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in Longbenton where we see a number of leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Longbenton conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can commence 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 commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. 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 disposal of the property.

    Alternatively, it may be possible 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 purchaser.

    I inherited a 1 bedroom flat in Longbenton, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Similar properties in Longbenton with a long lease are worth £242,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 invoiced every year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2078

    You have 53 years left to run the likely cost is going to range between £36,100 and £41,800 as well as professional fees.

    The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Longbenton