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Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in Kentish Town

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Kentish Town. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Kentish Town - 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.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two maisonettes in Kentish Town which have in the region of forty five years unexpired on the lease term. should I be concerned?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Kentish Town is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the value of the property. The majority of buyers and mortgage companies, leases with less than 75 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 Kentish Town 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 You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new 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.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Kentish Town. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in Kentish Town where we see a number of flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Kentish Town conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the vendor 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 proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 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 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 Kentish Town with the aim of expediting the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Kentish Town can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers representatives.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Kentish Town leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord consenting to such changes. Where you dont have the paperwork to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in advance.
  • A minority of Kentish Town leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Obtaining a re-issued share certificate is often a lengthy process and frustrates many a Kentish Town home move. If a new share is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable double-check via your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the lease term is under 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • I have had difficulty in negotiating a lease extension in Kentish Town. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

    Where there is a absentee landlord or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to arrive at the amount due.

    An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Kentish Town flat is Flat 2 27 Mackeson Road in December 2012. The Tribunal assessed the value of the lease extension premium at £35,435 and rounded the figure to £35,500 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 64.77 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Kentish Town