Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Dartmouth Park:

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Dartmouth Park leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

I wish to rent out my leasehold flat in Dartmouth Park. 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 Dartmouth Park conveyancing solicitor is not around you can review your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The rule is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to obtain consent from your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet without prior permission. 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.

I’m about to sell my ground floor apartment in Dartmouth Park.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is pay the service charge 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 managing agents 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to meet my requirements, at a reasonable price which is making it all the more appealing. I have just found out that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Dartmouth Park. Conveyancing solicitors have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Dartmouth Park are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Dartmouth Park in which case you should be looking for a Dartmouth Park conveyancing practitioner and check that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a lessee you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions for example obtaining the landlord’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your lawyer will report to you on the legal implications.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Dartmouth Park. Conveyancing and Bank of Ireland mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing practitioner in Dartmouth Park who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Dartmouth Park conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Dartmouth Park with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

  • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Dartmouth Park can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
  • A minority of Dartmouth Park leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, 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 able to meet 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 buyers or their solicitors.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where a dispute is ongoing. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Obtaining a replacement share certificate can be a lengthy formality and delays many a Dartmouth Park home move. Where a new share certificate is required, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable verify this via your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is below 75 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • After months of negotiations we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Dartmouth Park. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

    if there is a absentee landlord or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the LVT to judgment on the price.

    An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Dartmouth Park premises is Flat 2 27 Mackeson Road in December 2012. The Tribunal assessed the value of the lease extension premium at £35,435 and rounded the figure to £35,500 This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 64.77 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Dartmouth Park