Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in New Invention:

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Common questions relating to New Invention leasehold conveyancing

Harry (my fiance) and I may need to let out our New Invention garden flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We instructed a New Invention conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

The lease governs the relationship between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will indicate if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in New Invention do not prevent strict prohibition on subletting – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the property. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the sublease.

I have recently realised that I have 72 years remaining on my flat in New Invention. I now want to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What options are available to me?

If 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 an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to track down the landlord. For most situations a specialist would be helpful to carry out a search and to produce a report which can be used as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing New Invention.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of apartments in New Invention which have approximately forty five years unexpired on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in New Invention. The lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease reduces and it becomes more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies may be reluctant to lend money on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We advise that you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in New Invention from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

  • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in New Invention can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers lawyers.
  • The majority landlords or Management Companies in New Invention charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in New Invention.
  • Some New Invention leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. 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 bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Organising a duplicate share certificate is often a time consuming formality and frustrates many a New Invention home move. If a new share is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to verify this by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in New Invention what are the most common lease problems?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in New Invention. All leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain sections are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the premises
    • A duty to insure the building
    • Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
    • Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

    A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. HSBC Bank, Virgin Money, and Barclays Direct all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

    New Invention Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should consider before buying

      How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? Most New Invention leasehold apartments will be liable to pay a service bill for maintenance of the block levied by the management company. Where you acquire the apartment you will have to meet this charge, usually quarterly throughout the year. This may differ from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built blocks. There will also be a rentcharge to be met annual, normally this is not a large sum, say approximately £25-£75 but you should to check as occasionally it could be prohibitively expensive. Who is in charge of the building?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in New Invention