I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Shenley. Before diving in I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Shenley - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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.

Back In 2009, I bought a leasehold flat in Shenley. Conveyancing and Accord Mortgages Ltd mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing solicitor in Shenley who previously acted has now retired.Any advice?

First contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Shenley conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am looking at a two maisonettes in Shenley which have in the region of fifty years left on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a right to use the property for a period of time. As a lease gets shorter the value of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is advisable to extend the lease term. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage companies may be reluctant to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

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

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Shenley 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 buyers representatives.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Shenley leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord approving such alterations. If you fail to have the paperwork to hand you should not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor in advance.

If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride 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 prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better 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. Organising a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming process and slows down many a Shenley conveyancing transaction. If a duplicate share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this as soon as possible.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

We expect to complete the sale of our £250000 apartment in Shenley in seven days. The managing agents has quoted £420 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Shenley?

Shenley conveyancing on leasehold flats ordinarily results in administration charges levied by landlords agents :

• Addressing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Shenley
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• 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 Shenley leasehold property is £350. For Shenley 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 supply the information.

Following months of correspondence we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Shenley. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

Most certainly. We can put you in touch with a Shenley conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Shenley flat is Ground Floor Maisonette 17 Milton Road in January 2014. The Tribunal determined the premium payable by the Applicant to the should be £13,299 This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 71.73 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Shenley