I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Shadwell. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Shadwell - 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've recently bought a leasehold flat in Shadwell. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

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 work for a reputable estate agency in Shadwell where we have experienced a few leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Shadwell conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have 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 at the same time as 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 buyer.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Shadwell with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Shadwell can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers solicitors.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Shadwell state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Where you dont have the paperwork in place do not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor before hand.
• A minority of Shadwell leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand 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 purchasers or their lawyers.
• If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over rather than ongoing.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Organising a duplicate share certificate can be a time consuming formality and delays many a Shadwell conveyancing deal. If a new share certificate is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

Having spent years of negotiations we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Shadwell. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

in cases where there is a missing freeholder or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to arrive at the premium.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Shadwell flat is 12, 14 & 16 Hull Close in May 2010. the Tribunal determined that the premium payable for the acquisition of the freehold to the subject premises was the sum of £18,300 This case was in relation to 3 flats. The unexpired lease term was 101.61 years.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Shadwell what are the most frequent lease defects?

Leasehold conveyancing in Shadwell is not unique. All leases are unique and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain provisions are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the property
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Nationwide Building Society, Chelsea Building Society, and Clydesdale all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

Shadwell Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should consider before buying

Its a good idea to find out as much as you can regarding the company managing the building as they will either make your life much simpler or problematic. As the owner of a leasehold property you will be at the mercy of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to every day issues such as the tidiness of the communal areas. Ask prospective neighbours if they are happy with their management. In conclusion, find out the dates that you are obliged pay the maintenance charge to the appropriate party and specifically what you get for your money. What is the name of the managing agents?