I wish to sublet my leasehold apartment in Greenfield. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

Even though your last Greenfield conveyancing lawyer is not around you can check your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to seek permission from your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet without prior consent. Such consent should not be unreasonably turned down. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Back In 2007, I bought a leasehold flat in Greenfield. Conveyancing and Barclays Direct mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing practitioner in Greenfield who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a Greenfield conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Greenfield. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

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).

I work for a reputable estate agent office in Greenfield where we have witnessed a number of flat sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Greenfield conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension process 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 commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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 purchaser.

We expect to complete the sale of our £300000 flat in Greenfield on Monday in a week. The landlords agents has quoted £300 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Greenfield?

Greenfield conveyancing on leasehold flats often necessitates the buyer’s lawyer submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to such questions most will be content to do so. They are at liberty levy a reasonable administration fee for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it is in excess of £800. The management information fee invoiced by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in respect of administration charges, without which the charge is not strictly payable. In reality you have little option but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

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

What is the name of the managing agents? Is there a share of the freehold? The best form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this scenario the lessees enjoy control and even though a managing agent is often retained where the building is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Greenfield