I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Hoxton. Before diving in I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Hoxton - 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 am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Hoxton where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Hoxton conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the seller of a flat can initiate 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 proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

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 purchaser.

What are your top tips when it comes to appointing a Hoxton conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Hoxton conveyancing firm) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you talk with several firms including non Hoxton conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be useful:

• How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?
• Can they put you in touch with client in Hoxton who can give a testimonial?

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Hoxton from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Hoxton can be avoided if 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 purchasers’ lawyers.
• The majority freeholders or managing agents in Hoxton charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Hoxton.
• A minority of Hoxton 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 put in hand 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.
• If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Organising a new share certificate is often a time consuming formality and slows down many a Hoxton conveyancing deal. If a duplicate share certificate is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

We expect to complete our sale of a £ 275000 flat in Hoxton on Friday in a week. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Hoxton?

Hoxton conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally requires the purchaser’s solicitor sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer such questions most will be content to do so. They are at liberty charge a reasonable administration fee for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it is in excess of £800. The administration charge invoiced by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality you have little choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without getting anywhere. Can one make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Hoxton conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?

Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a Hoxton conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Hoxton flat is 137 & 139 Haberdasher Street in December 2013. The Tribunal determines in accordance with section 48 and Schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 that the premium for the extended lease for each Property should be £12,350.00. This case was in relation to 2 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 72.39 years.

Hoxton Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries Prior to buying

Make sure you investigate if the the lease contains any unreasonable restrictions in the lease. For instance plenty of leases prohibit pets being allowed in certain buildings in Hoxton. If you love the flatin Hoxton but your dog can’t live with you then you have a very hard decision.