West Norwood leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s
I would like to sublet my leasehold flat in West Norwood. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?
Even though your last West Norwood conveyancing lawyer is not around you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the property. The accepted inference is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to obtain permission via your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior 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.
My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in West Norwood. Conveyancing and The Mortgage Works mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing solicitor in West Norwood who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?
First make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a West Norwood conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. 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.
I am attracted to a two maisonettes in West Norwood both have about fifty years left on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?
There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in West Norwood is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the salability of the property. For most buyers and lenders, leases with less than 75 years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with West Norwood conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.
Last month I purchased a leasehold house in West Norwood. 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. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element 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).
All being well we will complete the sale of our £200000 apartment in West Norwood next week. The freeholder has quoted £360 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in West Norwood?
For the majority of leasehold sales in West Norwood conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :
- Completing pre-exchange questions
- Where consent is required before sale in West Norwood
- Supplying insurance information
- Deeds of covenant upon sale
- Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale
Having spent months of correspondence we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in West Norwood. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?
Most certainly. We can put you in touch with a West Norwood conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a West Norwood premises is 172 Knollys Road in February 2012. On 13 September 2011 District Judge Guinan made a vesting order and the proceedings were transferred to the tribunal for the purpose of assessing the premium which was subsequently calculated to be £24,003 This case affected 4 flats. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 98.28 for 3 flats other than the garden flat which had 66.04 years remaining.