I have just appointed agents to market my garden apartment in Victoria Docks.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge the service charge 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 management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until 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've recently bought a leasehold house in Victoria Docks. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

In a situation 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 be sure 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).

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Victoria Docks conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Victoria Docks conveyancing practice) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you make enquires with several firms including non Victoria Docks conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be of use:

• How many lease extensions has the firm completed in Victoria Docks in the last year?
• Can they put you in touch with client in Victoria Docks who can give a testimonial?

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Victoria Docks from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Victoria Docks can be reduced if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Victoria Docks charge for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for 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 usual reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Victoria Docks.
• A minority of Victoria Docks leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the yearly 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.
• If you have had conflict 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 nervous about purchasing a property where a dispute is unresolved. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or settle 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 are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.
• If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Obtaining a replacement share certificate is often a lengthy process and delays many a Victoria Docks conveyancing transaction. If a new share certificate is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £ 450000 garden flat in Victoria Docks on Monday in a week. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Victoria Docks?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Victoria Docks conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Answering pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Victoria Docks
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Victoria Docks leasehold property is £350. For Victoria Docks 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 provide answers.

Despite our best endeavours, we have been unsuccessful in negotiating a lease extension in Victoria Docks. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

Where there is a absentee landlord or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to judgment on the amount due.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Victoria Docks residence is 46 Credon Road in January 2014. On 11 September 2013 Deputy District Judge Price sitting at the Bow County Court made a vesting order that the freeholder surrender his lease and be granted a new lease of the Premises on such terms as may be determined by the First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber).The appropriate sum as concluded by the Tribunal was £7225 This case affected 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 69.77 years.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Victoria Docks - A selection of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

Plenty Victoria Docks leasehold apartments will have a service charge for maintenance of the block levied on behalf of the management company. Should you buy the flat you will have to pay this contribution, usually quarterly throughout the year. This can differ from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal areas. In all probability there will be a ground rent to be met yearly, this is usually not a significant figure, say about £50-£100 but you need to enquire it because sometimes it could be prohibitively expensive.