I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Cheetham Hill. Before I set the wheels in motion I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Cheetham Hill - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

Frank (my husband) and I may need to rent out our Cheetham Hill basement flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Cheetham Hill conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your last Cheetham Hill conveyancing lawyer is no longer around you can review your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the property. The rule is that if the lease is silent, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to seek consent from your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of first obtaining consent. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I own a leasehold flat in Cheetham Hill. Conveyancing and National Westminster Bank mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing practitioner in Cheetham Hill who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Cheetham Hill conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Cheetham Hill. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

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 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).

We expect to complete our sale of a £275000 garden flat in Cheetham Hill in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £408 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Cheetham Hill?

Cheetham Hill conveyancing on leasehold flats ordinarily results in fees being levied by managing agents :

• Addressing pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Cheetham Hill
• 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 conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Cheetham Hill leasehold premises is £350. For Cheetham Hill 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 obliged to supply the information.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Cheetham Hill - A selection of Questions you should consider before buying

For many Cheetham Hill leaseholds the outlay for major works tend not to be wrapped into the maintenance charges, although there some managing agents in Cheetham Hill ask leaseholders to contribute towards a sinking fund and this is used to offset against major works. The prefered form of lease structure is a share of the freehold. In this situation the leaseholders benefit from being in charge if their destiny and even though a managing agent is frequently employed if the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves. Is anyone aware of any major works on the horizon that will likely increase the maintenance fees?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Cheetham Hill