Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in New Covent Garden:

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While any conveyancing practice can theoretically deal with your leasehold conveyancing in New Covent Garden, your mortgage provider may not be willing to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Frequently asked questions relating to New Covent Garden leasehold conveyancing

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in New Covent Garden. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is registered - and almost all are in New Covent Garden - 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.

There are only Seventy years left on my flat in New Covent Garden. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What options are available to me?

If you qualify, 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 granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to track down the freeholder. For most situations a specialist would be useful to conduct investigations and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing New Covent Garden.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in New Covent Garden. Conveyancing and Coventry Building Society mortgage organised. 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 1996. The conveyancing practitioner in New Covent Garden who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

First make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a New Covent Garden conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am attracted to a two flats in New Covent Garden both have approximately forty five years left on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in New Covent Garden. The lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease shortens the saleability of the lease reduces and it becomes more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in New Covent Garden with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

  • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in New Covent Garden can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in New Covent Garden state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Should you dont have the paperwork in place you should not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer first.
  • Some New Covent Garden leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying 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 lawyers.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase 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 ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your lawyers. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is less than 80 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • New Covent Garden Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should ask before buying

      How much is the ground rent and service charge? Who manages the building? It would be wise to investigate if there are any onerous restrictions in the lease. For example it is reasonably common in New Covent Garden leases that pets are not permitted in in a block in New Covent Garden. If you like the propertyin New Covent Garden however your dog is not allowed to move with you then you have a very hard choice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in New Covent Garden