I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Piccadilly. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - 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.

Looking forward to complete next month on a ground floor flat in Piccadilly. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they are sending me a report tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Piccadilly should include some of the following:

• The total extent of the property. This will be the flat itself but might include a loft or basement if appropriate.
• Setting out your legal entitlements in respect of common areas in the block.E.G., does the lease permit a right of way over a path or staircase?
• Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?
• Does the lease prevent you from letting out the flat, or working from home
• Repair and maintenance of the flat
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?
• The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement flat in Piccadilly.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should clear 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 management companies 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I work for a busy estate agent office in Piccadilly where we have witnessed a number of flat sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Piccadilly conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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 buyer.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Piccadilly from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Piccadilly can be avoided if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
• A minority of Piccadilly leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
• If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is unresolved. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. 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 purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Obtaining a new share certificate can be a lengthy process and slows down many a Piccadilly conveyancing transaction. Where a duplicate share certificate is required, 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 it would be wise to verify this via your solicitors. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is under 75 years. It is therefore important 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.

I have given up trying to purchase the freehold in Piccadilly. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a Piccadilly conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Piccadilly flat 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 related to 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 21 years.

Piccadilly Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries before Purchasing

Where a Piccadilly lease has less than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the salability of the flat. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are content with residual term of the lease. A short lease means that you will most likely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and it is worth discovering how much this will be. For most Piccadillylease extensions you would be be obliged to have owned the residence for 24 months before you are legally able to carry out a lease extension. It would be wise to find out if there are any onerous prohibitions in the lease. By way of example some leases prohibit pets being permitted in in a block in Piccadilly. If you love the propertyin Piccadilly but your cat can’t live with you then you will be faced hard choice. For many Piccadilly leaseholds the cost for major works tend not to be included within maintenance charges, albeit that a few managing agents in Piccadilly require leasehold owners to contribute towards a reserve fund and this is used to offset against larger repairs or maintenance.