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While any conveyancing solicitor can theoretically handle your leasehold conveyancing in Botany Bay, your mortgage provider may not be willing to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Botany Bay leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

I am intending to rent out my leasehold flat in Botany Bay. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Notwithstanding that your last Botany Bay conveyancing lawyer is no longer around you can review your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the premises. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to seek permission via your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of first obtaining consent. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Botany Bay. Conveyancing and Yorkshire Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing solicitor in Botany Bay who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?

First contact HMLR to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Botany Bay conveyancing lawyer 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 rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agency in Botany Bay where we see a few leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Botany Bay conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can initiate 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 simultaneously with completion of the sale.

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 purchaser.

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

  • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Botany Bay can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
  • The majority landlords or managing agents in Botany Bay levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought 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 frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Botany Bay.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Botany Bay state that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord consenting to such works. If you dont have the paperwork in place you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor first.
  • A minority of Botany Bay leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the yearly 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 had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing.

    • Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £450000 maisonette in Botany Bay in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £324 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Botany Bay?

    Botany Bay conveyancing on leasehold apartments often involves the buyer’s conveyancer submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address such questions most will be willing to do so. They may charge a reasonable administration fee for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it exceeds £800. The administration charge levied by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration charges, without which the invoice is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that one has little option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to complete the sale of your home.

    Following months of correspondence we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Botany Bay. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

    Absolutely. 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 property is 23 Beaconsfield Road in July 2013. The Tribunals decided that the amount payable was £31,203 for the freehold. This case related to 2 flats. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 70.31 years.