Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Sutton. Before I get started I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and almost all are in Sutton - 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.

Frank (my husband) and I may need to let out our Sutton ground floor flat for a while due to a new job. We instructed a Sutton conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have since shut 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?

A lease dictates the relationship between the landlord and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will indicate if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. The majority of leases in Sutton do not prevent an absolute prevention of subletting – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the property. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the tenancy agreement.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to meet my requirements, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently discovered that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Sutton. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Sutton are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in Sutton in which case you should be looking for a Sutton conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the landlord’sconsent to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your solicitor will report to you on the legal implications.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Sutton from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Sutton can be avoided where you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• The majority freeholders or managing agents in Sutton levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. 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 frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Sutton.

Some Sutton 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. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the yearly 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 have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to 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 are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should double-check via your lawyers. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the lease term is under 75 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £450000 apartment in Sutton in just under a week. The management company has quoted £384 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Sutton?

For most leasehold sales in Sutton conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Addressing conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Sutton
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Sutton leasehold premises is £350. For Sutton conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to supply answers.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without any joy. Can I make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Sutton conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?

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

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Sutton residence is Buchanan Court 39 Vernon Road in April 2010. the Tribunal assessed that the premium payable for the freehold of the block should be £44,000. This case related to 2 flats. The unexpired lease term was 66.67 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Sutton