Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in South Hackney. Before diving in I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in South Hackney - 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.

My fiance and I may need to let out our South Hackney ground floor flat temporarily due to a new job. We used a South Hackney conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your last South Hackney conveyancing solicitor is not around you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must obtain permission via your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. This means that you cannot sublet without prior consent. Such consent must not not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease prohibits you from letting out the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I have just appointed agents to market my garden apartment in South Hackney.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I am employed by a reputable estate agency in South Hackney where we see a few flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local South Hackney conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can initiate 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 kick-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 to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, 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 buyer.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in South Hackney with the intention of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in South Hackney can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
• The majority landlords or Management Companies in South Hackney charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought 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 common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in South Hackney.
• Some South Hackney leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain 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 solicitors.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Obtaining a replacement share certificate can be a lengthy formality and frustrates many a South Hackney conveyancing transaction. Where a reissued share certificate is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check via your solicitors. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the remaining number of years is below 80 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord to extend my lease without success. Can one make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a South Hackney conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?

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

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a South Hackney flat is 150 Amhurst Road in December 2013. The tribunal concluded that the premium to be paid by the applicant for the enfranchisement of the subject property was £43,500. This case affected 4 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 90 (or thereabouts).

Leasehold Conveyancing in South Hackney - Examples of Questions you should ask before buying

How much is the maintenance charge and ground rent on the property? Best to be warned if redecorating or some other significant cost is due shortly that will be shared between the leasehold owners and will dramatically increase the the service charges or require a specific payment.