Top Five Questions relating to Queen's Park leasehold conveyancing
I wish to rent out my leasehold flat in Queen's Park. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?
A lease dictates relations between the landlord and you the flat owner; in particular, it will say if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. Most leases in Queen's Park do not contain subletting altogether – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the property. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the sublease.
I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to meet my requirements, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have just discovered that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Queen's Park. Conveyancing advisers have not yet been appointed. Will they explain the issues?
The majority of houses in Queen's Park are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in Queen's Park so you should seriously consider looking for a Queen's Park conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions for example requiring the freeholder’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the house is part of an estate. Your solicitor should advise you fully on all the issues.
My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Queen's Park. Conveyancing and The Royal Bank of Scotland mortgage organised. 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 1991. The conveyancing solicitor in Queen's Park who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?
The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Queen's Park conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. 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 am attracted to a couple of flats in Queen's Park both have approximately fifty years unexpired on the leases. Will this present a problem?
There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Queen's Park is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the marketability of the premises. The majority of buyers and lenders, leases with less than 75 years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Queen's Park conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.
Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Queen's Park. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to 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. However, 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).
Having spent months of negotiations we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Queen's Park. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?
Most certainly. We are happy to put you in touch with a Queen's Park conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Queen's Park premises is 4 & 4A Charteris Road in June 2009. the Tribunal held that the price to be paid for the enfranchisement of 4/4a Charteris Road to be £15,510 for at 4and £15,694 for at 4a This case affected 2 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 70.02 years.
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