I want to rent out my leasehold flat in St Margarets. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Even though your last St Margarets conveyancing lawyer is not available you can review your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The rule is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to obtain consent from your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. This means that you cannot sublet without first obtaining permission. Such consent must not not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease prohibits you from letting out the property you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my garden apartment in St Margarets.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should clear the invoice 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I am attracted to a two maisonettes in St Margarets which have about fifty years left on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

I've recently bought a leasehold house in St Margarets. Do I have any liability for 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. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part 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).

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a St Margarets conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a St Margarets conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you make enquires with two or three firms including non St Margarets conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be helpful:

• How familiar is the firm with lease extension legislation?

I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord for a lease extension without any joy. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such matters? Can you recommend a St Margarets conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?

Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a St Margarets conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a St Margarets premises is Ground Floor Flat 91 Bath Road in May 2009. in a case where the freeholder could not be traced, the Brentford County Court ordered that the Lease be surrendered in return for the grant of a new lease of the Premises at a premium determined by the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal. The tribunal concluded that the price payable by the Applicant for the new lease of the premises be £15,900 This case related to 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 60.45 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in St Margarets