I own a freehold property in Tufnell Park yet charged rent, why is this and what is this?

It is rare for properties in Tufnell Park and has limited impact for conveyancing in Tufnell Park but some freehold properties in England (particularly common in North West England) pay an annual sum known as a Chief Rent or a Rentcharge to a third party who has no other legal interest in the land.

Rentcharge payments are usually between £2.00 and £5.00 per year. Rentcharges date back many centuries, but the Rent Charge Act 1977 barred the creation of fresh rentcharges from 1977 onwards.

Old rentcharges can now be redeemed by making a lump sum payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence post 2037 will be extinguished.

I have been advised by my conveyancer that missing deeds insurance is necessary on my purchase. What is the typical level of cover needed for conveyancing in Tufnell Park?

The right level of missing deeds indemnity insurance should be dictated by who who your lender is. It would differ for example between Yorkshire Building Society and Bank of Scotland. Conveyancing practitioners as opposed to borrowers take out such insurances.

The formalities of my remortgage has taken place for my property in Tufnell Park. Conveyancing was a necessary evil but I would like to complain about the lender. How do I make a complaint?

All banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first port of call should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Services Team at head office. Ordinarily complaints to a lender are resolved very quickly. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR with full details of your complaint.

I recently had an offer accepted on a house in Tufnell Park. My mortgage broker recommended their conveyancers. I paid an upfront payment of £150. A couple of days later, the lawyer contacted me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Barclays conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Barclays panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly picked up during conveyancing in Tufnell Park?

Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Tufnell Park. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’

The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build flat in Tufnell Park. Conveyancing is necessary evil at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build legal work.

Set out below is a sample of a selection of leasehold new build questions that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Tufnell Park

The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided. Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease. Forfeiture - bankruptcy or liquidation must not apply under this provision.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Tufnell Park from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Tufnell Park can be avoided where you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers’ representatives.
If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Organising a re-issued share certificate is often a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Tufnell Park conveyancing deal. Where a duplicate share certificate is needed, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible. A minority of Tufnell Park leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors. Many landlords or Management Companies in Tufnell Park levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Tufnell Park. You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable verify this via your lawyers. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is less than 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.

I am the proprietor of a two-bedroom flat in Tufnell Park. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the sum payable for the purchase of the freehold?

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

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Tufnell Park property 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 related to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 64.77 years.