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

Your lease dictates relations between the landlord and you the flat owner; specifically, it will set out if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The rule is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Holmfirth do not prevent an absolute prevention of subletting – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the flat. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

I have just appointed agents to market my basement flat in Holmfirth.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a half-yearly service charge demand – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should clear the service charge as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

Back In 2009, I bought a leasehold flat in Holmfirth. Conveyancing and Bank of Ireland mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing solicitor in Holmfirth who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Holmfirth conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Holmfirth. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

In a situation 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).

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Holmfirth conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Holmfirth conveyancing practice) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you speak with several firms including non Holmfirth conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• What volume of lease extensions has the firm carried out in Holmfirth in the last twenty four months?

Holmfirth Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries before buying

The prefered form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this scenario the leaseholders benefit from being in charge if their destiny and notwithstanding that a managing agent is frequently employed if it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves. It would be wise to investigate if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. For instance it is fairly common in Holmfirth leases that pets are not allowed in certain buildings in Holmfirth. If you love the apartmentin Holmfirth however your cat can’t live with you then you will be faced hard choice. Are any of leasehold owners in arrears of their service charge payments?

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Lease Extensions in Holmfirth