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

A lease governs the relationship between the freeholder and you the flat owner; in particular, it will indicate 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 permitted. Most leases in Petts Wood do not contain strict prohibition on subletting – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the flat. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the sublease.

I only have 62 years left on my flat in Petts Wood. I am keen to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What should I do?

If 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 magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent should be helpful to try and locate and to produce a report to be used as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Petts Wood.

I have just started marketing my ground floor flat in Petts Wood.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a quarterly service charge demand – what should I do?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should 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 management companies 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.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to be perfect, 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 am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in Petts Wood. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Petts Wood are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Petts Wood so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Petts Wood conveyancing practitioner and check that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the freeholder’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your lawyer will report to you on the legal implications.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Petts Wood from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Petts Wood can be reduced where you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers representatives.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Petts Wood leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. Should you fail to have the approvals to hand do not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer first.
• Some Petts Wood leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying 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 purchasers 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 marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay 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 clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.
• You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should verify this via your solicitors. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is under 75 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

We have reached the end of our tether in trying to purchase the freehold in Petts Wood. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

Where there is a missing freeholder or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to make a decision on the premium.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Petts Wood premises is 1 Southlands Court Southlands Road in September 2013. The Leasehold Valuation Tribunal determined that the premium to be paid by the tenant on the grant of a new lease, in accordance with section 56 and Schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 was £30,541 This case affected 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 50.57 years.

Petts Wood Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

The majority of Petts Wood leasehold properties will be liable to pay a service charge for maintenance of the building invoiced on behalf of the management company. Where you purchase the apartment you will have to meet this contribution, usually quarterly during the year. This could vary from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal grounds. There will also be a rentcharge for you to pay annual, this is usually not a significant amount, say around £25-£75 but you need to enquire as occasionally it could be many hundreds of pounds. The best form of lease structure is if the freehold interest is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this scenario the tenants benefit from control and even though a managing agent is frequently employed where it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent retained by the leaseholders.