Leasehold Conveyancing in Ashtead - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

Get a Quote

Require a conveyancing quote from a solicitor for leasehold conveyancing in Ashtead on your lender’s panel? Make use of our search tool to find quality local Ashtead conveyancing practitioners or national solicitors on your lender’s panel .

Top Five Questions relating to Ashtead leasehold conveyancing

I wish to rent out my leasehold apartment in Ashtead. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

A small minority of properties in Ashtead do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord cannot unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to see references. Experience suggests that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting permission.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Ashtead. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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 ensure 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 work for a long established estate agency in Ashtead where we have experienced a few flat sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Ashtead conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 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 disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Ashtead with the intention of expediting the sale process?

  • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Ashtead can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
  • Many landlords or managing agents in Ashtead levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. 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 reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Ashtead.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Ashtead leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. Should you fail to have the approvals to hand do not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor first.
  • Some Ashtead leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the annual 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 lawyers.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. 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 particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.

    • We expect to complete the disposal of our £475000 flat in Ashtead in just under a week. The management company has quoted £408 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Ashtead?

    Ashtead conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes more often than not requires the purchaser’s lawyer sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address such questions most will be content to do so. They are at liberty levy a reasonable administration fee for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it is in excess of £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the charge is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that you have no option but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to complete the sale of your home.

    Having spent months of correspondence we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Ashtead. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

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

    An example of a Lease Extension case for a Ashtead residence is 33 The Maisonettes Alberta Avenue in June 2014. the Tribunal decided that the premium payable for the grant of a new lease be the sum of £20,680 (Twenty Thousand six hundred and eighty pounds). This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 60.43 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Ashtead