I want to let out my leasehold apartment in St Mary Cray. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

Your lease dictates the relationship between the freeholder and you the flat owner; specifically, it will set out if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in St Mary Cray do not contain subletting altogether – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the flat. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in St Mary Cray. Conveyancing and TSB mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing solicitor in St Mary Cray who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

First contact the Land Registry to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a St Mary Cray conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in St Mary Cray. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

In a situation 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. 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).

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in St Mary Cray with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in St Mary Cray can be avoided where you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• The majority landlords or managing agents in St Mary Cray charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in St Mary Cray.

If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in St Mary Cray state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Should you dont have the paperwork in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your solicitor in the first instance.

Some St Mary Cray leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.

You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to verify this by asking your solicitors. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is below 75 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £275000 garden flat in St Mary Cray in nine days. The managing agents has quoted £336 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in St Mary Cray?

St Mary Cray conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes ordinarily involves administration charges raised by management companies :

• Completing conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in St Mary Cray
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for St Mary Cray leasehold property is £350. For St Mary Cray conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to supply the information.

I have given up seeking a lease extension in St Mary Cray. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

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

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a St Mary Cray 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 related to 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 50.57 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in St Mary Cray