Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Piccadilly. Before diving in I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Piccadilly - 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.

I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor flat in Piccadilly.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a quarterly service charge demand – what should I do?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I own a leasehold house in Piccadilly. Conveyancing and Barnsley Building Society mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing solicitor in Piccadilly who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Piccadilly conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Piccadilly. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, 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).

After years of correspondence we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Piccadilly. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

if there is a missing freeholder or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to calculate the premium.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Piccadilly property is Flat 1 3 Upper Belgrave Street in December 2010. The Tribunal determined that the price payablefor the Lease extension in respect of the subject premises was £2,202,007 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 21 years.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Piccadilly what are the most frequent lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in Piccadilly is not unique. All leases are individual and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the property
• 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

You could encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Halifax, Skipton Building Society, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to pull out.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Piccadilly