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

Your lease dictates the relationship between the landlord and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will indicate if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. Most leases in Charing Cross do not prevent an absolute prevention of 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 tenancy agreement.

Due to complete next month on a basement flat in Charing Cross. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they are sending me a report on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Charing Cross should include some of the following:

• The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and aware of the importance of the 80 year mark

I own a leasehold house in Charing Cross. Conveyancing and TSB mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing solicitor in Charing Cross who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry 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 instruct a Charing Cross conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Charing Cross. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner 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 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).

Completion in due on the sale of our £450000 maisonette in Charing Cross in just under a week. The freeholder has quoted £408 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Charing Cross?

Charing Cross conveyancing on leasehold flats normally requires the buyer’s solicitor submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address these enquiries the majority will be willing to assist. They are entitled invoice a reasonable charge for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it exceeds £800. The administration charge demanded by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the charge is not strictly payable. In reality one has no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to complete the sale of your home.

I have given up trying to purchase the freehold in Charing Cross. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a Charing Cross conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Charing Cross property is 20 Avonwick Road in July 2013. The Tribunal was dealing with an application under Section 26 of the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 for a determination of the freehold value of the property. It was concluded that the price to be paid was Fifteen Thousand Nine Hundred and Seventy (£15,970) divided as to £8,200 for Flat 20 and £7,770 for Flat 20A This case affected 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 73.26 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Charing Cross