Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Hoxton:

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Common questions relating to Hoxton leasehold conveyancing

Harry (my fiance) and I may need to let out our Hoxton 1st floor flat for a while due to a new job. We instructed a Hoxton conveyancing practice in 2001 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Hoxton conveyancing solicitor is not around you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the property. The rule is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you must seek consent from your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. This means that you cannot sublet without first obtaining consent. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably turned down. If your lease prohibits you from letting out the property you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I have recently realised that I have Seventy years remaining on my flat in Hoxton. I am keen to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What options are available to me?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to locate the freeholder. On the whole a specialist may be helpful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document to be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Hoxton.

I am looking at a couple of flats in Hoxton which have approximately 50 years unexpired on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Hoxton. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease shortens the saleability of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Hoxton where we have experienced a number of flat sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Hoxton conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

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 buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with 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 purchaser.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Hoxton with the intention of expediting the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Hoxton can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
  • Many freeholders or Management Companies in Hoxton levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Hoxton.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Hoxton state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord approving such changes. Where you dont have the approvals in place do not contact the landlord without contacting your solicitor first.
  • If there is a history of conflict 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 reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is unsettled. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. 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 particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over rather than unresolved.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Obtaining a replacement share certificate can be a lengthy process and frustrates many a Hoxton home move. Where a reissued share is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible.

    • Having spent years of dialogue we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Hoxton. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

    You certainly can. We are happy to put you in touch with a Hoxton conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension case for a Hoxton property 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 related to 2 flats. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 72.39 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Hoxton