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

Notwithstanding that your previous Strawberry Hill conveyancing lawyer is no longer around you can review your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the premises. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you must obtain permission via your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of first obtaining consent. Such 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 if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Looking forward to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Strawberry Hill. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they will have a report out to me next week. What should I be looking out for?

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

• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change

Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?

I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required

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?

The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building

Responsibility for repairing the window frames For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Strawberry Hill please ask your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Strawberry Hill

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Strawberry Hill. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

In a situation 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 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).

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Strawberry Hill from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Strawberry Hill can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers representatives.
• Many landlords or managing agents in Strawberry Hill charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for 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 common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Strawberry Hill.

In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Strawberry Hill leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord approving such alterations. Should you dont have the consents in place do not contact the landlord without contacting your solicitor in advance.

If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.

If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Arranging a duplicate share certificate can be a lengthy formality and slows down many a Strawberry Hill home move. If a new share is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this as soon as possible.

We expect to complete our sale of a £175000 maisonette in Strawberry Hill next week. The landlords agents has quoted £420 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Strawberry Hill?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Strawberry Hill conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Answering pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Strawberry Hill
• Supplying insurance information
• 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 Strawberry Hill leasehold premises is £350. For Strawberry Hill 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 answers.

I own a a ground floor purpose built flat in Strawberry Hill. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the sum payable for the purchase of the freehold?

Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a Strawberry Hill conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Strawberry Hill residence 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 affected 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 60.45 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Strawberry Hill