Since the Elizabeth line began running through Romford, Gidea Park and Harold Wood, Havering has been discovered by buyers who could not afford Stratford or Ilford, and the conveyancing solicitors of the borough have been busier than for years. The housing they deal with is unusual for London: overwhelmingly freehold, overwhelmingly houses, from Hornchurch's 1930s semis and the garden suburb plots of Gidea Park to the detached houses of Emerson Park, with flats concentrated around Romford station, in the new blocks at Beam Park and Rainham, and on the Harold Hill estate.
Freehold houses bring their own problems. Long gardens mean boundary disputes and arguments about fences and overhanging trees; side extensions and loft conversions mean party wall awards and missing building control certificates; and garages converted into bedrooms mean planning enforcement. New-build estates often come with estate rent charges and management company fees that a solicitor must explain, because they can be as onerous as a lease. Ex-council houses on Harold Hill sold under the right to buy carry discount repayment clauses for the first few years. Around half the borough is Green Belt, so buying a plot or a paddock near Havering-atte-Bower or Upminster with a view to building on it needs planning advice before exchange, not after.
Landlords and tenants are a smaller share of the work than in inner London but a growing one, with hearings at the county court in Romford. Commercial property centres on Romford's shopping centres and the units along the A127 and the A13, where leases, rent reviews and dilapidations claims keep solicitors busy.
Conveyancing fees are fixed; the quote should list searches, Land Registry fees and stamp duty separately.
Property firms serving Havering are listed below, verified first. Read what conveyancing involves, the legal fees for buying a house, the legal fees for selling a house, neighbour disputes and the general property solicitors guide.
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