Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Slough:

Get a Quote

Leasehold conveyancing in Slough is more complex than freehold. Your home move will be smoother where you choose a lawyer with a wealth of experience of leasehold conveyancing in Slough and next step up in loc. The lawyers we recommend have been approved by your lender so use our search tool to check.

Slough leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

Looking forward to complete next month on a leasehold property in Slough. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they report fully next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

  • You should receive a copy of the lease
  • Setting out your rights in relation to common areas in the building.By way of example, does the lease contain a right of way over a path or staircase?
  • Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?
  • An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice? For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Slough please enquire of your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in Slough

    • I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor apartment in Slough.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a half-yearly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

    The sensible thing to do is pay 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 managing agents 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

    I am employed by a long established estate agency in Slough where we see a few leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Slough conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

    Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, 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 buyer.

    What are your top tips when it comes to appointing a Slough conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

    When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Slough conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you talk with two or three firms including non Slough conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be useful:

    • How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?
  • What are the costs for lease extension work?

    • Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Slough with the aim of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Slough can be reduced if you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
    • Many freeholders or Management Companies in Slough charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Slough.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Slough leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord approving such changes. Should you dont have the approvals in place do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer first.
  • If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay 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 details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.
  • If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Organising a duplicate share certificate is often a lengthy formality and frustrates many a Slough conveyancing deal. If a new share is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

    • Leasehold Conveyancing in Slough - Examples of Queries before buying

      Does the lease have onerous restrictions? Does the lease have in excess of 90 years left? You will want to discover as much as possible regarding the company managing the building as they can either make life much simpler or problematic. As the owner of a leasehold property you are often in the clutches of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to daily issues like the upkeep of the common parts. Don't be shy to ask prospective neighbours what they think of them. On a final note, find out the dates that you are obliged pay the maintenance charge to the appropriate party and specifically how they are spending that money.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Slough