Jane (my partner) and I may need to let out our Cowfold garden flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Cowfold conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Even though your last Cowfold conveyancing solicitor is not around you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the property. The accepted inference is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must obtain permission via your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior permission. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably turned down. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Due to exchange soon on a garden flat in Cowfold. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they will have a report out to me on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Cowfold should include some of the following:

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord

Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?

Repair and maintenance of the flat

Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)

I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required

The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.

Responsibility for repairing the window frames For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Cowfold please ask your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Cowfold

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Cowfold. Am I liable to pay 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. Strange as it may seem, 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).

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £450000 apartment in Cowfold in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £348 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Cowfold?

For most leasehold sales in Cowfold conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Addressing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Cowfold
• 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 solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Cowfold leasehold premises is £350. For Cowfold 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 answers.

What makes a Cowfold lease unacceptable for security purposes?

Leasehold conveyancing in Cowfold is not unique. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building
• Insurance obligations
• 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. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Barnsley Building Society, and TSB all have express conveyancing instructions 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 provide security, obliging the buyer to pull out.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Cowfold - Examples of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

Is there a share of the freehold? This question is helpful as a) areas may cause problems in the block as the communal areas may start to deteriorate if services remain unpaid b) if the leasehold owners have an issue with the managing agents you will want to have all the details The majority of Cowfold leasehold apartments will incur a service charge for the upkeep of the building levied by the freeholder. Should you purchase the property you will have to pay this charge, usually quarterly during the year. This could vary from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. In all likelihood there will be a rentcharge for you to pay yearly, this is usually not a significant figure, say approximately £50-£100 but you should to check it because on occasion it can be many hundreds of pounds.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Cowfold