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

A lease dictates relations between the freeholder and you the flat owner; specifically, it will say if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Hightown do not contain subletting altogether – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the property. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the sublease.

Back In 2001, I bought a leasehold flat in Hightown. Conveyancing and Aldermore mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing solicitor in Hightown who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

First contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Hightown conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Hightown. Do I have any liability for 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. However, 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).

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Hightown from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Hightown can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Hightown state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Should you fail to have the consents in place do not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor first.

A minority of Hightown leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the annual 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.

If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate can be a lengthy process and slows down many a Hightown home move. If a new share certificate is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your conveyancers. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is below 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £225000 garden flat in Hightown on Tuesday in a week. The landlords agents has quoted £360 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Hightown?

Hightown conveyancing on leasehold flats nine out of ten times involves fees being raised by management companies :

• Completing pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Hightown
• 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 lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Hightown leasehold premises is £350. For Hightown 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 the information.

Hightown Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing

It would be sensible to discover as much as possible about the company managing the building as they can either make your life much easier or uncomfortable. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you are frequently at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to daily issues such as the tidiness of the common parts. Enquire of other people what they think of them. On a final note, investigate as to the dates that the service fees are due to the managing agents and precisely how they are spending that money. Who is in charge of the building? Is anyone aware of any major works on the horizon that could increase the maintenance costs?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Hightown