Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Whitefield. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

In a situation 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 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).

I am employed by a reputable estate agency in Whitefield where we see a number of flat sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Whitefield conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to wait 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 sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Whitefield from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Whitefield can be reduced if you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• The majority landlords or Management Companies in Whitefield charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Whitefield.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £250000 garden flat in Whitefield next Monday . The management company has quoted £396 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Whitefield?

Whitefield conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes more often than not necessitates the purchaser’s solicitor submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to such questions the majority will be willing to assist. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it is in excess of £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration charges, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. In reality you have no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

What are the common defects that you encounter in leases for Whitefield properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Whitefield. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Lloyds TSB Bank, Chelsea Building Society, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to pull out.

I purchased a 1st floor flat in Whitefield, conveyancing was carried out 5 years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable flats in Whitefield with over 90 years remaining are worth £182,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 charged once a year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2079

With 58 years left to run the likely cost is going to be between £23,800 and £27,400 as well as legals.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Whitefield