Leasehold Conveyancing in Hampton Hill - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

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While any conveyancing practice can theoretically handle your leasehold conveyancing in Hampton Hill, your mortgage provider may unwilling to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Hampton Hill leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

Looking forward to complete next month on a ground floor flat in Hampton Hill. 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 Hampton Hill should include some of the following:

  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
  • The physical extent of the demise. This will be the flat itself but might include a roof space or cellar if applicable.
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
  • 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
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?
  • 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 details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Hampton Hill please enquire of your lawyer in advance of your conveyancing in Hampton Hill

    • Back In 2007, I bought a leasehold flat in Hampton Hill. Conveyancing and Clydesdale mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing solicitor in Hampton Hill who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

    First make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Hampton Hill conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

    I am attracted to a two flats in Hampton Hill which have in the region of forty five years unexpired on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

    There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Hampton Hill is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the marketability of the premises. The majority of purchasers and banks, leases with under eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more positive 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 Hampton Hill conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. 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.

    I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Hampton Hill where we see a few leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Hampton Hill conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can commence 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 need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

    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.

    Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Hampton Hill from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Hampton Hill can be reduced if you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
    • If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Hampton Hill leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord approving such alterations. Should you fail to have the paperwork to hand do not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor in advance.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing 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 will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over rather than unsettled.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Arranging a new share certificate can be a lengthy process and frustrates many a Hampton Hill home move. Where a duplicate share certificate is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this sooner rather than later.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should double-check via your solicitors. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is under 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord to extend my lease without getting anywhere. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such issues? Can you recommend a Hampton Hill conveyancing firm to assist?

    in cases where there is a missing landlord or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the LVT to assess the sum to be paid.

    An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Hampton Hill property is Ground Floor Flat 91 Bath Road in May 2009. in a case where the freeholder could not be traced, the Brentford County Court ordered that the Lease be surrendered in return for the grant of a new lease of the Premises at a premium determined by the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal. The tribunal concluded that the price payable by the Applicant for the new lease of the premises be £15,900 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 60.45 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Hampton Hill