Top Five Questions relating to Leven leasehold conveyancing
My partner and I may need to rent out our Leven garden flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We used a Leven conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time seek any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?
Your lease dictates the relationship 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. Most leases in Leven do not prevent strict prohibition on subletting – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the property. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the sublease.
I today plan to offer on a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have since discovered that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Leven. Conveyancing advisers have not yet been instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Leven ?
Most houses in Leven are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Leven in which case you should be looking for a Leven conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions for example obtaining the landlord’sconsent to carry out alterations. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your conveyancer will report to you on the legal implications.
Back In 2002, I bought a leasehold flat in Leven. Conveyancing and Nationwide Building Society mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing solicitor in Leven who previously acted has now retired.Any advice?
First contact HMLR to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Leven conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note 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 work for a long established estate agent office in Leven where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Leven conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
As long as 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. The benefit of this is 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 at the same time as 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 buyer.
If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £125000 maisonette in Leven on Wednesday in a week. The landlords agents has quoted £300 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Leven?
Leven conveyancing on leasehold flats usually necessitates fees being invoiced by managing agents :
- Addressing conveyancing due diligence questions
- Where consent is required before sale in Leven
- Copies of the building insurance and schedule
- Deeds of covenant upon sale
- Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale
I own a studio flat in Leven, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Comparable flats in Leven with a long lease are worth £182,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 invoiced every year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2084
You have 60 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £21,900 and £25,200 as well as costs.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.
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