Common questions relating to St John's Wood leasehold conveyancing
I want to let out my leasehold apartment in St John's Wood. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?
Even though your last St John's Wood conveyancing lawyer is not available you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the property. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must obtain permission from your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining permission. Such consent must not not be unreasonably withheld. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.
Due to sign contracts shortly on a leasehold property in St John's Wood. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they will have a report out to me within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?
The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in St John's Wood should include some of the following:
- Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
I own a leasehold flat in St John's Wood. Conveyancing and Bank of Ireland mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing solicitor in St John's Wood who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?
The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to be 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 St John's Wood conveyancing practitioner 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 legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.
What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a St John's Wood conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?
If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a St John's Wood conveyancing practice) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you make enquires with several firms including non St John's Wood conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be of use:
- If they are not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?
Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in St John's Wood from the perspective of expediting the sale process?
- Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in St John's Wood can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
- In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in St John's Wood state that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Where you dont have the paperwork in place do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer first.
After months of correspondence we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in St John's Wood. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?
Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a St John's Wood conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension decision for a St John's Wood property is Garden Flat 195 Goldhurst Terrace in May 2012. The Tribunal held in accordance with section 48 and Schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 that the premium for the extended lease should be £60,855.00. This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired term was 60.16 years.
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