Common questions relating to Petts Wood leasehold conveyancing
My fiance and I may need to sub-let our Petts Wood ground floor flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We used a Petts Wood conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?
Even though your previous Petts Wood conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can review your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The rule is that if the lease is silent, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to obtain permission from your landlord or some other party before subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior consent. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably withheld. If the lease prohibits you from letting out the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.
Planning to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Petts Wood. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they are sending me a report on Monday. What should I be looking out for?
Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Petts Wood should include some of the following:
- You should receive a copy of the lease
My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Petts Wood. Conveyancing and Coventry Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing solicitor in Petts Wood who previously acted has now retired.Any advice?
First contact the Land Registry to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Petts Wood conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.
I work for a busy estate agency in Petts Wood where we have experienced a number of flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Petts Wood conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is 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 needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.
Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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 purchaser.
I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord for a lease extension without getting anywhere. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal decide on such matters? Can you recommend a Petts Wood conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?
Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a Petts Wood conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Petts Wood flat 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 was in relation to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 50.57 years.
In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Petts Wood what are the most frequent lease problems?
Leasehold conveyancing in Petts Wood is not unique. All leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain sections 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 premises
- A duty to insure the building
- Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
- Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall
A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Chelsea Building Society, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to pull out.
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