I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently found out that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are issues purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Royston. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Royston ?

Most houses in Royston are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Royston so you should seriously consider looking for a Royston conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the freeholder’sconsent to conduct changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the house is located on an estate. Your conveyancer will appraise you on the various issues.

I am looking at a couple of maisonettes in Royston both have about 50 years left on the leases. should I be concerned?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Royston is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the marketability of the property. For most purchasers and banks, leases with less than 75 years become less and less marketable. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of property with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Royston conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Royston. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner 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. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure 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 work for a reputable estate agency in Royston where we have experienced a few leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Royston conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities 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 buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with 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 purchaser.

Completion in due on our sale of a £225000 apartment in Royston on Friday in a week. The landlords agents has quoted £396 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Royston?

Royston conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes ordinarily results in fees being invoiced by landlords agents :

• Addressing conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Royston
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Royston leasehold premises is £350. For Royston conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to provide the information.

Royston Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge payments? The best form of lease arrangement is if the freehold reversion is owned by the leaseholders. In this situation the lessees enjoy being in charge if their destiny and although a managing agent is frequently retained if it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent employed by the leaseholders. In the main the outlay for major works are not included within service charges, although a few managing agents in Royston ask leasehold owners to pay into a sinking fund created for the specific purpose of building a fund for major works.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Royston