I work for a long established estate agent office in Upper Tooting where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Upper Tooting conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer 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 before, or at the same time as 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 purchaser.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Upper Tooting conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Upper Tooting conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you speak with two or three firms including non Upper Tooting conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be of use:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?

How many lease extensions has the firm completed in Upper Tooting in the last 12 months?

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

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Upper Tooting can be avoided where you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
• Many landlords or Management Companies in Upper Tooting levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Upper Tooting.

In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Upper Tooting leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. Should you dont have the approvals in place you should not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor in the first instance.

If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where a dispute is unsettled. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge 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 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 rather than unsettled.

If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Arranging a replacement share certificate can be a lengthy formality and frustrates many a Upper Tooting home move. If a reissued share certificate is needed, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £500000 apartment in Upper Tooting next Tuesday . The managing agents has quoted £408 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Upper Tooting?

Upper Tooting conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually results in administration charges invoiced by managing agents :

• Addressing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Upper Tooting
• 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 solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Upper Tooting leasehold premises is £350. For Upper Tooting 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 obliged to supply answers.

What makes a Upper Tooting lease unacceptable for security purposes?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Upper Tooting. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the premises
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You could have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Yorkshire Building Society, Virgin Money, and Britannia all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

I invested in buying a basement flat in Upper Tooting, conveyancing was carried out 8 years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Similar properties in Upper Tooting with a long lease are worth £211,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 invoiced every year. The lease expires on 21st October 2099

You have 74 years left to run the likely cost is going to span between £8,600 and £9,800 plus professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Upper Tooting