Helen (my wife) and I may need to sub-let our Worcester Park basement flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Worcester Park conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

A lease dictates relations between the freeholder and you the flat owner; in particular, it will indicate if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. Most leases in Worcester Park do not contain strict prohibition on subletting – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the flat. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the sublease.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my 2 bed apartment in Worcester Park.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a quarterly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you clear the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Worcester Park. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before 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. 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).

Completion in due on the sale of our £ 275000 flat in Worcester Park next Tuesday . The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Worcester Park?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Worcester Park conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Addressing pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Worcester Park
• 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 solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Worcester Park leasehold premises is £350. For Worcester Park 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 provide the information.

We have reached the end of our tether in trying to purchase the freehold in Worcester Park. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

Most certainly. We are happy to put you in touch with a Worcester Park conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Worcester Park property is 33 The Maisonettes Alberta Avenue in June 2014. the Tribunal decided that the premium payable for the grant of a new lease be the sum of £20,680 (Twenty Thousand six hundred and eighty pounds). This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 60.43 years.

What makes a Worcester Park lease defective?

Leasehold conveyancing in Worcester Park is not unique. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You could have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Chelsea Building Society, and Nottingham Building Society all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Worcester Park - A selection of Queries before buying

For most Worcester Park leaseholds the outlay for major works are not included within maintenance charges, albeit that a few managing agents in Worcester Park obliged leaseholders to pay into a reserve fund created for the specific intention of building a fund for major repairs or maintenance. How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? Is the freehold owned collectively by the leaseholders?