Frank (my husband) and I may need to let out our Grove Park 1st floor flat temporarily due to a new job. We used a Grove Park conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Your lease dictates relations between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will set out if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The rule is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Grove Park do not prevent subletting altogether – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the flat. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

I only have Sixty One years unexpired on my flat in Grove Park. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What options are available to me?

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 an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. On the whole a specialist would be useful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Grove Park.

Back In 2007, I bought a leasehold flat in Grove Park. Conveyancing and Barnsley Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing solicitor in Grove Park who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

First contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Grove Park conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Grove Park. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before 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. 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).

I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord for a lease extension without any joy. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such matters? Can you recommend a Grove Park conveyancing firm to help?

in cases where there is a missing freeholder or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the LVT to make a decision on the sum to be paid.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Grove Park flat is 49 Woodstock Court Burnt Ash Hill in May 2012. the payment of £64,116 by the leaseholder was the premium which the Tribunal found due for the lease extension in this case. This case was in relation to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 23.26 years.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Grove Park what are the most common lease defects?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Grove Park. All leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Lloyds TSB Bank, Coventry Building Society, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Grove Park