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

A lease dictates the relationship between the landlord and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will set out if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. Most leases in Ferndown do not contain strict prohibition on subletting – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the property. In most cases there is a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

I am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Ferndown. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they report fully within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

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

• You should receive a copy of the lease

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Ferndown. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner 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. 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 am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Ferndown where we have witnessed a number of flat sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Ferndown conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 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 simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 buyer.

We expect to complete the sale of our £500000 apartment in Ferndown next week. The managing agents has quoted £312 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Ferndown?

Ferndown conveyancing on leasehold apartments often involves the purchaser’s solicitor sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer such questions the majority will be willing to assist. They are entitled invoice a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is in excess of £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality you have no option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to complete the sale of your home.

Ferndown Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries before buying

It would be wise to investigate if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. For example it is reasonably common in Ferndown leases that pets are not permitted in in a block in Ferndown. If you like the flatin Ferndown however your dog is not allowed to live with you then you will be faced hard determination. Does the lease include onerous restrictions? The prefered form of lease arrangement is if the freehold interest is owned by the leaseholders. In this scenario the tenants benefit from being in charge if their destiny and although a managing agent is frequently retained if it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Ferndown