My husband and I may need to let out our Grappenhall garden flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Grappenhall conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

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

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years remaining on my flat in Grappenhall. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What are my options?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to locate the landlord. For most situations an enquiry agent would be useful to carry out a search and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Grappenhall.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Grappenhall. Conveyancing and Godiva Mortgages Ltd mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing practitioner in Grappenhall who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

First contact HMLR to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Grappenhall conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured 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.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Grappenhall. 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. However, 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).

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Grappenhall what are the most common lease defects?

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

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the building
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You will have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Yorkshire Building Society, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Alliance & Leicester all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

Grappenhall Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries Prior to Purchasing

How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments? The prefered form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this situation the leaseholders benefit from being in charge if their destiny and although a managing agent is usually employed where it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants. You should want to find out as much as possible about the managing agents as they can either make your living at the property much simpler or uncomfortable. Being a leasehold owner you are frequently at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to daily issues like the cleanliness of the common parts. Enquire of prospective neighbours what they think of them. In conclusion, be sure you discover the dates that the maintenance charges are due to the managing agents and specifically how they are spending that money.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Grappenhall