I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Buckhurst Hill. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the remaining lease term.

If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Buckhurst Hill - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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.

I am intending to rent out my leasehold apartment in Buckhurst Hill. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?

A small minority of properties in Buckhurst Hill do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to see references. Experience dictates 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 permission.

I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Buckhurst Hill where we see a number of flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Buckhurst Hill conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as 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. This means 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 has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

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 buyer.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Buckhurst Hill conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Buckhurst Hill conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you talk with several firms including non Buckhurst Hill conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be of use:

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

Following years of dialogue we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Buckhurst Hill. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

Most certainly. We are happy to put you in touch with a Buckhurst Hill conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Buckhurst Hill property is 201 & 201a St. Barnabas Road in October 2013. The Tribunal decided that the price to be paid by the Applicants for the freehold interest is £20,071. This case related to 2 flats. The unexpired lease term was 69.26 years.

What makes a Buckhurst Hill lease defective?

Leasehold conveyancing in Buckhurst Hill is not unique. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building
• Insurance obligations
• 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 will have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Santander, Virgin Money, and Britannia all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Buckhurst Hill