Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Melbourne:

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Leasehold conveyancing in Melbourne 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 Melbourne and throughout next step up in loc. The lawyers we recommend have been approved by your lender so use our search tool to check.

Melbourne leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

Due to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Melbourne. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they will have a report out to me within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

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

  • You should be sent a copy of the lease
  • Will you be prohibited or prevented from having pets in the property?
  • You should be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
  • 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
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Melbourne please enquire of your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in Melbourne

    • I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have since discovered that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues purchasing a leasehold house in Melbourne. Conveyancing solicitors have not yet been instructed. Will they explain the issues?

    The majority of houses in Melbourne are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Melbourne so you should seriously consider looking for a Melbourne conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the landlord’spermission to conduct alterations. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your conveyancer will advise you fully on all the issues.

    I own a leasehold flat in Melbourne. Conveyancing and Aldermore mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing solicitor in Melbourne who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

    First make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Melbourne conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

    I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Melbourne where we have experienced a number of flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Melbourne conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

    As long as 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having 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 simultaneously with completion of the sale.

    An alternative approach is 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 buyer.

    Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Melbourne from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Melbourne can be reduced if you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers lawyers.
    • Some Melbourne leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the yearly 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 buyers or their lawyers.
  • If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers 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 resolve 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 are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Organising a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming formality and delays many a Melbourne home move. If a duplicate share certificate is needed, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable verify this via your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is less than 80 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • Melbourne Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

      Who manages the block? What is the length of the lease? Plenty Melbourne leasehold flats will be liable to pay a service bill for maintenance of the block invoiced by the freeholder. Should you buy the flat you will have to pay this charge, normally quarterly accross the year. This could differ from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large communal grounds. In all likelihood there will be a ground rent to be met annual, this is usually not a exorbitant amount, say around £25-£75 but you need to check as sometimes it can be prohibitively expensive.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Melbourne