I am intending to rent out my leasehold apartment in Riddlesdown. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Notwithstanding that your previous Riddlesdown conveyancing solicitor 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 silent, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must seek permission from your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining permission. The consent must not not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

There are only Seventy years remaining on my flat in Riddlesdown. I now want to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What options are available to me?

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 for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you have used your best endeavours to track down the freeholder. For most situations an enquiry agent may be helpful to carry out a search and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Riddlesdown.

Looking forward to sign contracts shortly on a garden flat in Riddlesdown. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they report fully next week. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Riddlesdown should include some of the following:

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
• Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?
• Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Riddlesdown. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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 ensure 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 had difficulty in negotiating a lease extension in Riddlesdown. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Riddlesdown conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Riddlesdown flat is The Woodlands 95 Purley Park Road in April 2009. The Tribunals own valuation produced the fi
gure of £37,912. This case affected 6 flats. The unexpired term was 78.32 years.

What makes a Riddlesdown lease unmortgageable?

Leasehold conveyancing in Riddlesdown is not unique. All leases are individual and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain provisions are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the building
• Insurance obligations
• 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 will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Halifax, Barnsley Building Society, and Alliance & Leicester 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 does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to pull out.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Riddlesdown - Examples of Queries Prior to buying

The best form of lease structure is where the freehold reversion is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this arrangement the leaseholders have control and although a managing agent is usually retained where it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants. Is there a share of the freehold?