Harry (my fiance) and I may need to let out our Elm Park ground floor flat temporarily due to a new job. We used a Elm Park conveyancing practice in 2001 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your last Elm Park conveyancing lawyer is no longer around you can review your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The rule is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you must seek consent from your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior consent. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

You should [be sent a copy of the lease|receive a copy of the lease]

Expecting to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in Elm Park. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they report fully next week. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Elm Park should include some of the following:

• How long the lease is You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
• Will you be prohibited or prevented from having pets in the property?
• Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
• The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building

For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Elm Park please enquire of your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Elm Park

I own a leasehold flat in Elm Park. Conveyancing and The Royal Bank of Scotland mortgage went though with no issue. 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 1995. The conveyancing practitioner in Elm Park who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

First contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Elm Park conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Elm Park. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

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 be sure 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).

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £ 300000 flat in Elm Park in 5 days. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Elm Park?

Elm Park conveyancing on leasehold apartments typically necessitates fees being raised by management companies :

• Answering pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Elm Park
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Elm Park leasehold property is £350. For Elm Park conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to provide the information.

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

if there is a absentee freeholder or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to decide the amount due.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Elm Park premises is 37 Lodge Court High Street in November 2013. the decision of the LVT was that the premium to be paid for the new lease was £25,559 This case related to 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 57.5 years.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Elm Park - Sample of Queries before Purchasing

Its a good idea to find out as much as possible concerning the managing agents as they can either make life much easier or problematic. Being a leasehold owner you are frequently at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to every day matters like the cleanliness of the communal areas. Ask prospective neighbours what they think of their service. On a final note, investigate as to the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the managing agents and specifically how they are spending the funds.