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Sample questions relating to Moorgate leasehold conveyancing

Back In 2009, I bought a leasehold flat in Moorgate. Conveyancing and The Royal Bank of Scotland mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing practitioner in Moorgate who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

First contact the Land Registry to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Moorgate conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Moorgate. 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 owner 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 ensure 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).

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in Moorgate where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Moorgate conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities 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 kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to wait 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 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 purchaser.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Moorgate with the aim of expediting the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Moorgate can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
  • The majority freeholders or managing agents in Moorgate charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Moorgate.
  • If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. 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 buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.
  • If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share document. Arranging a replacement share certificate is often a lengthy formality and delays many a Moorgate conveyancing deal. If a reissued share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check by asking your solicitors. A buyer’s conveyancer 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 early stage that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

  • Completion in due on the sale of our £200000 maisonette in Moorgate next Wednesday . The freeholder has quoted £312 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Moorgate?

    Moorgate conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually involves the purchaser’s conveyancer submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer such questions the majority will be content to do so. They may invoice a reasonable administration fee for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is in excess of £800. The management information fee demanded by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the charge is not strictly payable. In reality one has no choice but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

    I have had difficulty in trying to purchase the freehold in Moorgate. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

    Where there is a missing landlord or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the LVT to calculate the amount due.

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Moorgate flat is 137 & 139 Haberdasher Street in December 2013. The Tribunal determines in accordance with section 48 and Schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 that the premium for the extended lease for each Property should be £12,350.00. This case affected 2 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 72.39 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Moorgate