I've recently bought a leasehold flat in South West London. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

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. However, 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 work for a reputable estate agent office in South West London where we see a few flat sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local South West London conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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 sit tight for 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 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 buyer.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a South West London conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a South West London conveyancing firm) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you speak with several firms including non South West London conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?
• Can they put you in touch with client in South West London who can give a testimonial?

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in South West London from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in South West London can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• Many landlords or Management Companies in South West London levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in South West London.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? South West London leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such changes. Where you dont have the paperwork in place you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your lawyer before hand.
• A minority of South West London leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to verify this by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £ 350000 apartment in South West London on Monday in a week. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in South West London?

South West London conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually involves the buyer’s conveyancer sending enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to these enquiries the majority will be content to assist. They may charge a reasonable administration fee for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it is in excess of £800. The administration charge invoiced by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration charges, without which the invoice is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that one has no option but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

Despite our best endeavours, we have been unsuccessful in seeking a lease extension in South West London. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a South West London conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a South West London residence is 78 & 80 Newport Road in January 2013. the Tribunal concluded that the premium to be paid by the leaseholder in respect of the freehold reversion is £23,105 This case affected 2 flats. The unexpired term was 71.63 years.

South West London Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? In the main the cost for major works tend not to be built into the maintenance charges, albeit that some managing agents in South West London ask leaseholders to contribute towards a sinking fund created for the specific purpose of building a fund for major repairs or maintenance. How much is the ground rent and service charge?