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

The lease governs relations between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will indicate if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Brentwood do not contain an absolute prevention of subletting – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the property. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Brentwood. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

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. A critical element 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).

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Brentwood with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Brentwood can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Brentwood state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. If you fail to have the approvals in place do not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in the first instance.
• Some Brentwood leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
• If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet 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 buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check by asking your solicitors. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is under 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £ 300000 garden flat in Brentwood next Monday . The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Brentwood?

Brentwood conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally results in fees being levied by managing agents :

• Addressing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Brentwood
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Brentwood leasehold premises is £350. For Brentwood conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to provide the information.

I have had difficulty in trying to purchase the freehold in Brentwood. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

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

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Brentwood property is 37 Lodge Court High Street in November 2013. the decision of the LVT was that the premium to be paid for the new lease was £25,559 This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 57.5 years.

Are there common deficiencies that you come across in leases for Brentwood properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Brentwood is not unique. All leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the premises
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Lloyds TSB Bank, Leeds Building Society, and Clydesdale all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

Brentwood Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should consider before buying