Quality lawyers for Leasehold Conveyancing in Pontprennau

Get a Quote

Whether you are buying or selling leasehold flat in Pontprennau, our panel of leasehold conveyancing experts will help you move with as little stress as possible. Find a Pontprennau conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Questions and Answers: Pontprennau leasehold conveyancing

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Pontprennau. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Pontprennau - 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.

Expecting to exchange soon on a studio apartment in Pontprennau. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they are sending me a report next week. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Pontprennau should include some of the following:

  • You should be sent a copy of the lease
  • You must be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
  • The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?
  • What you can do if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Pontprennau please enquire of your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in Pontprennau

    • I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Pontprennau. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before 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. Strange as it may seem, 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).

    I am employed by a reputable estate agent office in Pontprennau where we see a few flat sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Pontprennau conveyancing firms. Can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can commence 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 kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

    An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 purchaser.

    Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Pontprennau from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

    • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Pontprennau can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers solicitors.
    • Many freeholders or Management Companies in Pontprennau levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Pontprennau.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Pontprennau leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. Where you dont have the consents in place you should not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor in advance.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay 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 ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should verify this via your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • I inherited a leasehold flat in Pontprennau, conveyancing having been completed 4 years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Similar flats in Pontprennau with over 90 years remaining are worth £235,000. The ground rent is £55 charged once a year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2104

    With only 79 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £12,400 and £14,200 plus professional fees.

    The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Pontprennau