Leasehold Conveyancing in Tetbury - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

Get a Quote

Looking for a solicitor for leasehold conveyancing in Tetbury on your lender’s panel? Make use of our search tool to find leading local Tetbury conveyancing practitioners or nationwide solicitors on your lender’s panel .

Recently asked questions relating to Tetbury leasehold conveyancing

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Tetbury. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Tetbury - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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.

Jane (my partner) and I may need to let out our Tetbury garden flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Tetbury conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Some leases for properties in Tetbury do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord cannot unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to see references. Experience suggests that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting consent.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Tetbury. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

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. 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).

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Tetbury with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

  • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Tetbury can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
  • A minority of Tetbury leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. 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 historic as opposed to ongoing.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Obtaining a new share certificate is often a time consuming process and delays many a Tetbury home move. If a duplicate share certificate is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this via your lawyers. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the lease term is below 80 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 property on the market for sale.

    • Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £150000 flat in Tetbury on Friday in a week. The management company has quoted £408 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Tetbury?

    Tetbury conveyancing on leasehold apartments more often than not requires the purchaser’s conveyancer sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address these enquiries most will be content to assist. They are entitled invoice a reasonable administration fee for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs 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 summary of rights and obligations in relation to administration charges, otherwise the charge is not strictly payable. In reality one has no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

    Leasehold Conveyancing in Tetbury - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing

      If a Tetbury lease has fewer than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the marketability of the flat. It is worth checking with your bank that they are willing to go ahead with the loan given the lease term. A short lease means that you will most likely need a lease extension sooner rather than later and it is worth discovering what this would cost. Remember, in most cases you will need to own the residence for 24 months in order to be entitled to extend the lease. Plenty Tetbury leasehold flats will be liable to pay a service charge for the upkeep of the block levied by the management company. Should you acquire the property you will have to meet this liability, normally periodically during the year. This may vary from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built blocks. There will also be a ground rent to be met annual, normally this is not a exorbitant sum, say approximately £25-£75 but you need to enquire it because on occasion it can be many hundreds of pounds. Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge payments?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Tetbury