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Common questions relating to North West London leasehold conveyancing

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in North West London. Before I get started I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is registered - and most are in North West London - 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.

There are only Seventy years unexpired on my lease in North West London. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?

On the basis that 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 for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the lessor. In some cases an enquiry agent should be helpful to carry out a search and prepare a report which can be used as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering North West London.

Back In 2002, I bought a leasehold house in North West London. Conveyancing and Britannia mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing practitioner in North West London who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

First contact HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a North West London conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in North West London from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

  • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in North West London can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
  • The majority freeholders or Management Companies in North West London charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in North West London.
  • A minority of North West London leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share certificate. Organising a replacement share certificate is often a time consuming process and frustrates many a North West London conveyancing transaction. If a duplicate share is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check via your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is under 80 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • Are there frequently found problems that you witness in leases for North West London properties?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in North West London. Most leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
    • Insurance obligations
    • A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
    • Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

    A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Lloyds TSB Bank, Chelsea Building Society, and TSB all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

    Leasehold Conveyancing in North West London - A selection of Queries before Purchasing

      Please note if it is no more than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the salability of the flat. It is worth checking with your bank that they are willing to lend given the lease term. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease at some point and it is worth discovering how much this will be. For most North West Londonlease extensions you would be required to have been the owner of the residence for a couple of years before you are legally able to exercise a lease extension. What restrictions exist in the North West London Lease? Who are the managing agents?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in North West London