Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Honor Oak:

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Questions and Answers: Honor Oak leasehold conveyancing

Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Honor Oak. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Honor Oak - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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.

My partner and I may need to let out our Honor Oak garden flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Honor Oak conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Honor Oak conveyancing lawyer is no longer available you can check your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the property. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you need to obtain permission via your landlord or some other party before subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining permission. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

Looking forward to exchange soon on a garden flat in Honor Oak. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they are sending me a report tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

  • The physical extent of the property. This will be the property itself but might incorporate a loft or cellar if appropriate.
  • Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?
  • Does the lease prevent you from subletting the property, or working from home
  • You should be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • What you can do if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Honor Oak please ask your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Honor Oak

    • I am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in Honor Oak where we see a number of flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Honor Oak conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

    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 proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

    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 buyer.

    Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Honor Oak with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Honor Oak can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers representatives.
    • If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Honor Oak leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Where you dont have the consents to hand you should not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor first.
  • A minority of Honor Oak 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 financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share certificate. Arranging a re-issued share certificate is often a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Honor Oak conveyancing transaction. Where a duplicate share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is under 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you consider 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.

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

    Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Honor Oak conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension case for a Honor Oak premises is Flat 1 40-42 Ewelme Road in August 2012. the Tribunal assessed the premium for the lease extension in the sum of £11,800 This case affected 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 61.81 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Honor Oak