Cubitt Town leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s
I would like to let out my leasehold flat in Cubitt Town. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?
Notwithstanding that your previous Cubitt Town conveyancing lawyer is no longer available you can review your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to seek consent via your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet in the absence of first obtaining consent. The consent should not be unreasonably turned down. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord for their consent.
I have just appointed agents to market my 2 bed apartment in Cubitt Town.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a yearly service charge demand – Do I pay up?
The sensible thing to do is clear the invoice 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.
I today plan to offer on a house that seems to be perfect, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have since been informed that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a leasehold house in Cubitt Town. Conveyancing solicitors have are soon to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?
Most houses in Cubitt Town are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Cubitt Town so you should seriously consider looking for a Cubitt Town conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions for example requiring the freeholder’spermission to conduct changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is located on an estate. Your solicitor should appraise you on the various issues.
I am attracted to a couple of flats in Cubitt Town which have about 50 years remaining on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?
A lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As a lease shortens the saleability of the lease decreases and it becomes more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is generally wise to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena
I work for a busy estate agent office in Cubitt Town where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Cubitt Town conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?
As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start 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 to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.
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.
After months of negotiations we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Cubitt Town. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?
in cases where there is a missing landlord or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to calculate the price payable.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Cubitt Town flat is 12, 14 & 16 Hull Close in May 2010. the Tribunal determined that the premium payable for the acquisition of the freehold to the subject premises was the sum of £18,300 This case related to 3 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 101.61 years.
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