I want to rent out my leasehold apartment in Crowborough. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?

A small minority of properties in Crowborough do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord is not entitled to 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 consent.

I am hoping to complete next month on a ground floor flat in Crowborough. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they are sending me a report next week. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Crowborough should include some of the following:

• You should be sent a copy of the lease

Defining your rights in respect of common areas in the building.By way of example, does the lease provide for a right of way over a path or hallways?

Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?

Whether the lease restricts you from renting out the property, or having a home office for business

Repair and maintenance of the flat

The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building

What you can do if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Crowborough please ask your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Crowborough

I own a leasehold flat in Crowborough. Conveyancing and The Mortgage Works mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing practitioner in Crowborough who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Crowborough conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Crowborough with the aim of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Crowborough can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers conveyancers.
• A minority of Crowborough leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should 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 financially capable of paying the yearly 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 reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to 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 prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over rather than unsettled.

If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share certificate. Arranging a duplicate share certificate can be a time consuming formality and slows down many a Crowborough home move. Where a new share is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this via your solicitors. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is under 75 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £475000 flat in Crowborough in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £384 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Crowborough?

Crowborough conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes ordinarily involves administration charges raised by managing agents :

• Answering pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Crowborough
• Supplying insurance information
• 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 Crowborough leasehold premises is £350. For Crowborough 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 provide answers.

I purchased a studio flat in Crowborough, conveyancing was carried out 2005. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Similar properties in Crowborough with over 90 years remaining are worth £218,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 levied per year. The lease ends on 21st October 2098

With only 78 years left to run the likely cost is going to range between £11,400 and £13,200 plus legals.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Crowborough