A bill for major works lands on the doormat of a right-to-buy flat on an estate in Walworth or Bermondsey: tens of thousands of pounds for new windows, lifts and cladding, payable to Southwark Council as freeholder. Challenging it, spreading it or selling a flat with the bill still outstanding is specialist work, and it is one of the things that makes property law in Southwark different from the suburbs. The council is among the largest residential landlords in the country, and a great many of its former tenants are now leaseholders with every obligation a long lease carries.
Conveyancing in the borough is overwhelmingly leasehold. New flats at Elephant Park, Canada Water and along the Old Kent Road come with ground rent and service charge arrangements, building safety certificates and developer incentives that need close reading; older conversions in Camberwell and Peckham may have leases short enough to trouble a mortgage lender, so a lease extension or a collective freehold purchase becomes part of the deal. Houses in Dulwich, Nunhead and Herne Hill are mostly freehold, with chains, boundaries and planning conditions as the usual complications. Leasehold law has been reformed in stages recently, so ask a solicitor what applies now rather than relying on what a neighbour paid.
Renting is the other half. Private tenants in Peckham, Camberwell and Walworth bring deposit disputes, disrepair claims and possession proceedings, and landlords need tenancy agreements that keep up with the changing rules. Commercially, Borough Market, Bermondsey Street and the railway arches support a constant trade in short leases, renewals and rent reviews.
Conveyancing is normally quoted as a fixed fee; ask for searches, Land Registry fees and stamp duty to be shown separately.
The property firms serving Southwark are listed below, verified ones first. See what conveyancing involves, landlord and tenant law, neighbour disputes and the general property solicitors guide; the London property page covers the wider capital.
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