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St James leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two maisonettes in St James both have in the region of fifty years remaining on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease shortens the saleability of the lease reduces and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We advise that you get professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

I've recently bought a leasehold property in St James. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

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. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element 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 a negotiator for a busy estate agency in St James where we have experienced a few leasehold sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local St James conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner 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 proposed purchaser need not have 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 prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in St James with the purpose of expediting the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in St James can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
  • Many freeholders or Management Companies in St James levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in St James.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? St James leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord approving such works. Where you dont have the paperwork to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your lawyer first.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where a dispute is ongoing. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge 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 clearly preferable to present the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable verify this via your solicitors. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is below 80 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible 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.

    • Completion in due on the sale of our £275000 apartment in St James on Tuesday in a week. The freeholder has quoted £312 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in St James?

    St James conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally necessitates the buyer’s lawyer sending questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer such questions the majority will be willing to assist. They are entitled invoice a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it is above £800. The management information fee invoiced by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration charges, otherwise the charge is technically not due. Reality however dictates that you have little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

    After years of correspondence we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in St James. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

    in cases where there is a absentee landlord or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the LVT to judgment on the premium.

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a St James residence is Flats 12A & 19, Evelyn Mansions Carlisle Place in June 2009. The Tribunal held that the price to be paid for the new lease of Flat 12A is £168,824, For the other flat the price was set at £169,110 This case was in relation to 2 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 56 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in St James