Top Five Questions relating to Cockfosters leasehold conveyancing
My wife and I may need to rent out our Cockfosters garden flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We used a Cockfosters conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?
Notwithstanding that your previous Cockfosters conveyancing lawyer is no longer available you can review your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The rule is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you need to seek consent via your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior consent. Such consent should not be unreasonably turned down. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.
I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to be perfect, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently been informed that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Cockfosters. Conveyancing solicitors have are about to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Cockfosters ?
Most houses in Cockfosters are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Cockfosters so you should seriously consider looking for a Cockfosters conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the freeholder’spermission to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your conveyancer should report to you on the legal implications.
I own a leasehold flat in Cockfosters. Conveyancing and Accord Mortgages Ltd mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing solicitor in Cockfosters who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?
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 in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Cockfosters conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured that regardless, 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 property in Cockfosters. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before 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. 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).
Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £450000 garden flat in Cockfosters next week. The landlords agents has quoted £336 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Cockfosters?
Cockfosters conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes more often than not requires the buyer’s solicitor sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer such questions the majority will be content to do so. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it exceeds £800. The management information fee demanded by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the charge is technically not due. In reality you have no choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to complete the sale of your home.
After years of negotiations we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Cockfosters. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?
Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Cockfosters conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Cockfosters premises is 23 Beaconsfield Road in July 2013. The Tribunals decided that the amount payable was £31,203 for the freehold. This case related to 2 flats. The unexpired term was 70.31 years.
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