Frank (my husband) and I may need to let out our Crews Hill 1st floor flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We used a Crews Hill 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 allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Crews Hill conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can review your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to obtain consent via your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. This means that you cannot sublet without prior consent. Such consent must not not be unreasonably turned down. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

There are only Sixty One years unexpired on my flat in Crews Hill. I am keen to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What are my options?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the freeholder. On the whole a specialist should be helpful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Crews Hill.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Crews Hill. Conveyancing and The Royal Bank of Scotland mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing practitioner in Crews Hill who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Crews Hill conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. 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.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Crews Hill. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

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. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part 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 Crews Hill with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Crews Hill can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers lawyers.
• Many freeholders or Management Companies in Crews Hill levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Crews Hill.
• Some Crews Hill leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
• If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Arranging a re-issued share certificate is often a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Crews Hill conveyancing transaction. Where a duplicate share certificate is needed, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable verify this via your solicitors. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is under 80 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

I am the leaseholder of a basement flat in Crews Hill. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the amount payable for a lease extension?

in cases where there is a absentee freeholder or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to arrive at the price.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Crews Hill premises is 23 Beaconsfield Road in July 2013. The Tribunals decided that the amount payable was £31,203 for the freehold. This case was in relation to 2 flats. The unexpired term was 70.31 years.

Crews Hill Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries before Purchasing

You will want to find out as much as you can regarding the managing agents as they will affect your use and enjoyment of the property. Being a leasehold owner you will be in the clutches of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to practical matters like the upkeep of the communal areas. Don't be shy to ask other tenants what they think of their service. In conclusion, find out the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the appropriate party and specifically what you get for your money.