Frank (my husband) and I may need to let out our Hockley 1st floor flat temporarily due to a new job. We used a Hockley conveyancing firm in 2002 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Your lease governs relations between the freeholder and you the flat owner; in particular, it will set out if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Hockley do not prevent strict prohibition on subletting – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the flat. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

I own a leasehold house in Hockley. Conveyancing and Accord Mortgages Ltd mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Hockley who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Hockley conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, 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 Hockley. 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 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 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).

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Hockley with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Hockley can be reduced if you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
• The majority landlords or Management Companies in Hockley levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Hockley.

Some Hockley leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.

If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as over rather than unsettled.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable verify this by asking your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

Completion in due on the disposal of our £200000 garden flat in Hockley in 5 days. The landlords agents has quoted £384 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Hockley?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Hockley conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Completing conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Hockley
• 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 Hockley leasehold premises is £350. For Hockley 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.

Hockley Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries before Purchasing

How much is the ground rent and service charge? Please inform me if there are any major works anticipated that could increase the maintenance charges? It would be sensible to investigate if there are any onerous restrictions in the lease. For example it is fairly common in Hockley leases that pets are not permitted in in a block in Hockley. If you like the propertyin Hockley but your dog can’t move with you then you have a very hard compromise.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Hockley