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

Notwithstanding that your previous Morden Park conveyancing lawyer is not available you can review your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must obtain consent via your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior permission. Such consent should not be unreasonably withheld. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord for their consent.

I have just appointed agents to market my basement apartment in Morden Park.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a quarterly 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Morden Park. Conveyancing and Norwich and Peterborough Building Society mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing solicitor in Morden Park who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

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

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Morden Park where we see a number of leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Morden Park conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have 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 before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

We expect to complete the sale of our £ 425000 flat in Morden Park in just under a week. The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Morden Park?

Morden Park conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually requires the purchaser’s lawyer sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to these enquiries most will be willing to assist. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it is in excess of £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that one has no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to complete the sale of your home.

After months of negotiations we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Morden Park. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

in cases where there is a absentee landlord or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to make a decision on the price payable.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Morden Park premises is 33 The Maisonettes Alberta Avenue in June 2014. the Tribunal decided that the premium payable for the grant of a new lease be the sum of £20,680 (Twenty Thousand six hundred and eighty pounds). This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 60.43 years.

Morden Park Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

Please inform me if there are any major works anticipated that could increase the service fees? It would be wise to discover as much as you can regarding the managing agents as they can either make living at the property much simpler or much more difficult. Being a leasehold owner you will be at the mercy of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to practical issues such as the tidiness of the communal areas. Enquire of prospective neighbours whether they are happy with their service. In conclusion, find out the dates that the service charges are due to the managing agents and precisely what it includes. This question is useful as a) areas may result in problems in the block as the common areas may begin to deteriorate if services are not paid for b) if the leaseholders have an issue with the running of the building you will want to have all the details