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Tooting Bec leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

Looking forward to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in Tooting Bec. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they will have a report out to me on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Tooting Bec should include some of the following:

  • You should be sent a copy of the lease
  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
  • The total extent of the premises. This will be the apartment itself but might include a roof space or cellar if appropriate.
  • Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?
  • Whether the lease restricts you from subletting the property, or working from home
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?
  • The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Tooting Bec please enquire of your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Tooting Bec

    • I own a leasehold flat in Tooting Bec. Conveyancing and Virgin Money mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing solicitor in Tooting Bec who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

    The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Tooting Bec conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

    I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Tooting Bec. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before 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. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure 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 reputable estate agent office in Tooting Bec where we have experienced a few leasehold sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Tooting Bec conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

    Provided that 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 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 prior to, 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 purchaser.

    What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Tooting Bec conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

    When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Tooting Bec conveyancing practice) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you speak with several firms including non Tooting Bec conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

    • How familiar is the firm with lease extension legislation?
  • If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?

    • I have given up trying to purchase the freehold in Tooting Bec. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

    in cases where there is a missing freeholder or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to determine the price.

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Tooting Bec premises is 14 Nutwell Street in January 2014. The premium payable for the acquisition of a new lease of the subject premises was in the sum of £30,523 This case affected 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 62.94 years.