I want to sublet my leasehold flat in Wimbledon. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

Notwithstanding that your last Wimbledon conveyancing lawyer is not around you can review your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to obtain consent via your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior permission. Such consent should not be unreasonably withheld. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to be perfect, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have just been informed that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns purchasing a leasehold house in Wimbledon. Conveyancing solicitors have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Wimbledon are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Wimbledon in which case you should be looking for a Wimbledon conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the landlord’spermission to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the house is part of an estate. Your lawyer will appraise you on the various issues.

I am looking at a couple of maisonettes in Wimbledon both have in the region of fifty years remaining on the leases. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the value of the lease decreases and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage companies may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Wimbledon. 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 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).

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Wimbledon where we see a number of leasehold sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Wimbledon conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.

I inherited a a ground floor purpose built flat in Wimbledon. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the premium payable for the purchase of the freehold?

You certainly can. We are happy to put you in touch with a Wimbledon conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Wimbledon property is 629 Garratt Lane in September 2014. The consideration payable for the acquisition of the freehold of the subject property was the sum £21,302.74. This represented a valuation of the freehold in the sum of £23,864 from which the sum of £2561.27 has been deducted in respect of certain costs in repairing and insuring the premises This case related to 3 flats. The unexpired lease term was 72.94 years.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Wimbledon - Sample of Questions you should ask Prior to buying