Guaranteed fixed fees for Leasehold Conveyancing in East London

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Any conveyancing practice can theoretically deal with your leasehold conveyancing in East London, your mortgage provider may unwilling to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Sample questions relating to East London leasehold conveyancing

Planning to complete next month on a studio apartment in East London. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they will have a report out to me tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in East London should include some of the following:

  • You should be sent a copy of the lease
  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
  • You must be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
  • An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • What options are open to you if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in East London please ask your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in East London

    • I've found a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently found out that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are issues purchasing a leasehold house in East London. Conveyancing solicitors have not yet been appointed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in East London ?

    The majority of houses in East London are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in East London so you should seriously consider shopping around for a East London conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions for example obtaining the landlord’spermission to carry out changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the house is part of an estate. Your lawyer should advise you fully on all the issues.

    I am employed by a busy estate agency in East London where we see a number of flat sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local East London conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

    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. This means that the buyer can avoid having 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.

    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.

    What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a East London conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

    If you are instructing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a East London conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you speak with several firms including non East London conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be useful:

    • If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?
  • What are the charges for lease extension conveyancing?

    • Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in East London with the aim of expediting the sale process?

    • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in East London can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
    • The majority freeholders or Management Companies in East London levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in East London.
  • A minority of East London leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying 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 purchasers or their lawyers.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Arranging a replacement share certificate is often a time consuming process and frustrates many a East London home move. Where a reissued share is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this sooner rather than later.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should verify this via your conveyancers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • After years of correspondence we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in East London. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

    if there is a absentee landlord or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to make a decision on the price payable.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a East London premises is 20 Avonwick Road in July 2013. The Tribunal was dealing with an application under Section 26 of the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 for a determination of the freehold value of the property. It was concluded that the price to be paid was Fifteen Thousand Nine Hundred and Seventy (£15,970) divided as to £8,200 for Flat 20 and £7,770 for Flat 20A This case affected 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 73.26 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in East London