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

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Leasehold conveyancing in Canary Wharf 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 Canary Wharf and across next step up in loc. The lawyers we recommend have been approved by your lender so use our search tool to check.

Canary Wharf leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

Jane (my partner) and I may need to sub-let our Canary Wharf 1st floor flat temporarily due to a new job. We instructed a Canary Wharf conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

A small minority of properties in Canary Wharf do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably withhold but, in such cases, they would need to review references. Experience suggests 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 consent.

I am hoping to complete next month on a studio apartment in Canary Wharf. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they are sending me a report within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

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

  • Will you be prohibited or prevented from having pets in the property?
  • You need to be told what counts as 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
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames
  • What options are open to you if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Canary Wharf please enquire of your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Canary Wharf

    • I’m about to sell my basement flat in Canary Wharf.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a yearly service charge demand – Do I pay up?

    It best that you discharge the service charge as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

    I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Canary Wharf both have about 50 years unexpired on the leases. Will this present a problem?

    There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Canary Wharf is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the salability of the premises. The majority of buyers and mortgage companies, leases with less than 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of property with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Canary Wharf conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

    Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Canary Wharf with the aim of expediting the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Canary Wharf can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
    • Some Canary Wharf leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
  • If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay 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 are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Organising a replacement share certificate can be a lengthy process and slows down many a Canary Wharf home move. If a duplicate share is needed, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable double-check via your solicitors. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is less than 80 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • I am the proprietor of a first floor flat in Canary Wharf. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the sum payable for the purchase of the freehold?

    Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a Canary Wharf conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Canary Wharf flat is 12, 14 & 16 Hull Close in May 2010. the Tribunal determined that the premium payable for the acquisition of the freehold to the subject premises was the sum of £18,300 This case affected 3 flats. The unexpired lease term was 101.61 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Canary Wharf