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Questions and Answers: Camden Town leasehold conveyancing

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 72 years left on my flat in Camden Town. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What should I do?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you have used your best endeavours to track down the freeholder. For most situations a specialist may be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce a report which can be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Camden Town.

I am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a garden flat in Camden Town. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they are sending me a report within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Camden Town should include some of the following:

  • The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
  • Setting out your rights in relation to common areas in the building.E.G., does the lease include a right of way over an accessway or staircase?
  • Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?
  • You must be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
  • The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Camden Town please ask your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Camden Town

    • I today plan to offer on a house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently been informed that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a leasehold house in Camden Town. Conveyancing solicitors have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

    The majority of houses in Camden Town are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in Camden Town so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Camden Town conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the landlord’sconsent to conduct alterations. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your conveyancer should report to you on the legal implications.

    Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Camden Town conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

    If you are instructing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Camden Town conveyancing practice) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you speak with two or three firms including non Camden Town conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be helpful:

    • How familiar is the firm with lease extension legislation?
  • What are the legal fees for lease extension work?

    • Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Camden Town with the aim of expediting the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Camden Town can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
    • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Camden Town leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such works. If you fail to have the approvals in place do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in advance.
  • A minority of Camden Town leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is unresolved. You may need to swallow your pride and pay 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 will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should double-check by asking your conveyancers. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is under 80 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • Having spent years of correspondence we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Camden Town. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

    in cases where there is a missing landlord or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to assess the amount due.

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Camden Town residence is Flat 120, Clare Court Judd Street in August 2013. the Tribunal held that the premium to be paid for the extension of the lease should be £64,650 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 62.79 years.