I want to rent out my leasehold apartment in Dartmouth Park. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

Notwithstanding that your last Dartmouth Park conveyancing lawyer is no longer around you can review your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the property. The rule is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you must seek consent from your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining permission. Such consent must not not be unreasonably withheld. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 68 years remaining on my flat in Dartmouth Park. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?

On the basis that you qualify, 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 mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the landlord. For most situations a specialist should be useful to try and locate and to produce a report to be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Dartmouth Park.

I’m about to sell my ground floor flat in Dartmouth Park.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a quarterly service charge demand – what should I do?

It best that you 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 unless 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.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Dartmouth Park conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Dartmouth Park conveyancing firm) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you talk with several firms including non Dartmouth Park conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be of use:

• What volume of lease extensions has the firm conducted in Dartmouth Park in the last twenty four months?

All being well we will complete the sale of our £450000 apartment in Dartmouth Park on Thursday in a week. The freeholder has quoted £384 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Dartmouth Park?

Dartmouth Park conveyancing on leasehold apartments more often than not necessitates the purchaser’s lawyer sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer such questions most will be willing to assist. They may invoice a reasonable administration fee for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it exceeds £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the charge is technically not due. Reality however dictates that one has little choice but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

After months of correspondence we are unable to 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?

in cases where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the LVT to arrive at the price.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Dartmouth Park residence 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 was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 64.77 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Dartmouth Park