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

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Leasehold conveyancing in Cambridge is more complex than freehold. Your home move will be smoother where you choose a lawyer with a wealth of experience of leasehold conveyancing in Cambridge and next step up in loc. The lawyers we recommend have been approved by your lender so use our search tool to check.

Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in Cambridge

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Fifty years left on my flat in Cambridge. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to find the lessor. For most situations a specialist may be helpful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Cambridge.

I own a leasehold house in Cambridge. Conveyancing and Lloyds TSB Bank mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing practitioner in Cambridge who previously acted has now retired.Any advice?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Cambridge conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Cambridge. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

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. A critical element 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 advice for leasehold conveyancing in Cambridge from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

  • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Cambridge can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Cambridge leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord approving such alterations. Should you dont have the paperwork to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your lawyer first.
  • Some Cambridge leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
  • If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.
  • If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Organising a replacement share certificate can be a time consuming formality and slows down many a Cambridge home move. If a new share is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible.

    • Are there common deficiencies that you come across in leases for Cambridge properties?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Cambridge. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the property
    • 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

    You may encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Santander, The Mortgage Works, and Britannia all have very detailed 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 withdraw.

    Cambridge Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing

      Are there any major works anticipated that could increase the service costs? Is there a share of the freehold? Many Cambridge leasehold flats will have a service bill for the upkeep of the building levied by the freeholder. If you buy the apartment you will have to meet this liability, usually quarterly throughout the year. This can differ from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal areas. In all probability there will be a ground rent for you to pay yearly, ordinarily this is not a exorbitant amount, say approximately £50-£100 but you should to enquire it because sometimes it could be many hundreds of pounds.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Cambridge