I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Havering-atte-Bower. Before I get started I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Havering-atte-Bower - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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.

I own a leasehold flat in Havering-atte-Bower. Conveyancing and HSBC Bank mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing practitioner in Havering-atte-Bower who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Havering-atte-Bower conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured 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.

I work for a reputable estate agency in Havering-atte-Bower where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Havering-atte-Bower conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process 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 can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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 buyer.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Havering-atte-Bower from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Havering-atte-Bower can be avoided if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Havering-atte-Bower state that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord approving such alterations. Where you fail to have the consents to hand do not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer first.
• A minority of Havering-atte-Bower leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying 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 there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet 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 will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should ensure that you hold the original share document. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate is often a lengthy process and frustrates many a Havering-atte-Bower conveyancing deal. If a duplicate share is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

Despite our best efforts, we have been unsuccessful in trying to purchase the freehold in Havering-atte-Bower. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Havering-atte-Bower conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Havering-atte-Bower premises is 37 Lodge Court High Street in November 2013. the decision of the LVT was that the premium to be paid for the new lease was £25,559 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 57.5 years.

What makes a Havering-atte-Bower lease unmortgageable?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Havering-atte-Bower. Most leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. National Westminster Bank, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Alliance & Leicester all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to pull out.

I acquired a 1 bedroom flat in Havering-atte-Bower, conveyancing formalities finalised 10 years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable properties in Havering-atte-Bower with an extended lease are worth £250,000. The ground rent is £65 yearly. The lease ceases on 21st October 2089

With only 63 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £22,800 and £26,400 plus costs.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.