Experts for Leasehold Conveyancing in Botany Bay

Get a Quote

Whether you are buying or selling leasehold flat in Botany Bay, our panel of leasehold conveyancing experts will help you move with as little stress as possible. Find a Botany Bay conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Top Five Questions relating to Botany Bay leasehold conveyancing

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Botany Bay. Before diving in I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and almost all are in Botany Bay - 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.

Jane (my partner) and I may need to rent out our Botany Bay ground floor flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Botany Bay conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time get any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

A small minority of properties in Botany Bay 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 review 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.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Fifty years unexpired on my flat in Botany Bay. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What should I do?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to locate the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent should be useful to conduct investigations and prepare a report to be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Botany Bay.

Back In 2004, I bought a leasehold flat in Botany Bay. Conveyancing and The Royal Bank of Scotland mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Botany Bay who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Botany Bay conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Botany Bay with the purpose of expediting the sale process?

  • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Botany Bay can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers representatives.
  • The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Botany Bay levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Botany Bay.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Botany Bay leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord approving such alterations. Where you dont have the paperwork to hand do not contact the landlord without contacting your solicitor in the first instance.
  • If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. 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 purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over rather than ongoing.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Arranging a re-issued share certificate can be a lengthy process and delays many a Botany Bay home move. If a new share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

    • I am the leaseholder of a basement flat in Botany Bay. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the amount due for a lease extension?

    You certainly can. We are happy to put you in touch with a Botany Bay conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Botany Bay flat is 23 Beaconsfield Road in July 2013. The Tribunals decided that the amount payable was £31,203 for the freehold. This case affected 2 flats. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 70.31 years.