Top Five Questions relating to Sydenham Hill leasehold conveyancing
I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Sydenham Hill. Before I set the wheels in motion I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.
Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Sydenham Hill - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.
I want to sublet my leasehold flat in Sydenham Hill. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?
The lease dictates the relationship between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will say if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Sydenham Hill do not contain subletting altogether – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the property. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.
My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Sydenham Hill. Conveyancing and Nottingham Building Society mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Sydenham Hill who previously acted has now retired.Any advice?
The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Sydenham Hill conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. 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.
I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Sydenham Hill. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?
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 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).
Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Sydenham Hill from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?
- Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Sydenham Hill can be avoided where you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
- Many freeholders or managing agents in Sydenham Hill charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Sydenham Hill.
I have had difficulty in trying to purchase the freehold in Sydenham Hill. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?
Where there is a missing freeholder or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to make a decision on the price.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Sydenham Hill premises is Flat 5 4 Border Crescent in December 2013. the tribunal calculated that premium payable for the acquisition of a lease extension of the subject premises was in the sum of £14,900 (Fourteen thousand, nine hundred pounds). Those advising the applicant were advised to send a copy of the decision and a copy of the new lease with the premium (less the applicants costs as assessed by the Court) to the Croydon County Court (under claim number 3CR01226) for an officer of the Court to execute the new lease on behalf of the absentee landlord who is missing and cannot be traced). This case related to 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 69 years.