Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Piccadilly:

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Common questions relating to Piccadilly leasehold conveyancing

My husband and I may need to let out our Piccadilly ground floor flat temporarily due to a new job. We used a Piccadilly conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Piccadilly conveyancing solicitor is no longer around you can review your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The rule is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must obtain permission via your landlord or some other party before subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of first obtaining permission. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably turned down. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my garden apartment in Piccadilly.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a half-yearly service charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you discharge 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 am looking at a couple of maisonettes in Piccadilly both have about forty five years unexpired on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in Piccadilly. The lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the value of the lease reduces and it becomes more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease because 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 arena

What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a Piccadilly conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Piccadilly conveyancing firm) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you speak with two or three firms including non Piccadilly conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be useful:

  • Can they put you in touch with client in Piccadilly who can give a testimonial?
  • What are the costs for lease extension conveyancing?

    • Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Piccadilly from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Piccadilly can be avoided if you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
    • The majority landlords or managing agents in Piccadilly charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for 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 frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Piccadilly.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Piccadilly state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord approving such alterations. Where you dont have the approvals to hand do not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer before hand.
  • If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Arranging a replacement share certificate is often a time consuming process and delays many a Piccadilly home move. If a new share certificate is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

    • I am the proprietor of a ground floor flat in Piccadilly. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the sum due for the purchase of the freehold?

    Where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to judgment on the premium.

    An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Piccadilly residence 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 unexpired term was 21 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Piccadilly