Leasehold Conveyancing in Newport Pagnell - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

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While any conveyancing practice can theoretically handle your leasehold conveyancing in Newport Pagnell, your mortgage provider may not be willing to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Questions and Answers: Newport Pagnell leasehold conveyancing

Helen (my wife) and I may need to rent out our Newport Pagnell basement flat temporarily due to a new job. We used a Newport Pagnell conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Some leases for properties in Newport Pagnell do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to review references. Experience dictates that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting permission.

I have recently realised that I have Fifty years unexpired on my lease in Newport Pagnell. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to find the lessor. For most situations a specialist would be helpful to carry out a search and prepare a report which can be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Newport Pagnell.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Newport Pagnell. Conveyancing and Halifax mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing practitioner in Newport Pagnell who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Newport Pagnell conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Newport Pagnell. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

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. 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).

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Newport Pagnell from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Newport Pagnell can be reduced where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Newport Pagnell leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. If you fail to have the consents to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in advance.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord 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 nervous about purchasing a flat where a dispute is unresolved. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 better to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share document. Obtaining a replacement share certificate can be a time consuming formality and delays many a Newport Pagnell home move. If a reissued share is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this sooner rather than later.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should verify this via your solicitors. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is under 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • Leasehold Conveyancing in Newport Pagnell - A selection of Queries before Purchasing

      Most Newport Pagnell leasehold flats will have a service charge for the upkeep of the building invoiced on behalf of the management company. Where you buy the apartment you will have to meet this charge, usually in instalments accross the year. This may differ from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal grounds. In all likelihood there will be a rentcharge for you to pay yearly, this is usually not a large amount, say approximately £50-£100 but you should to enquire it because sometimes it could be many hundreds of pounds. This question is helpful as a) areas may cause problems for the block as the communal areas may start to deteriorate if repairs remain unpaid b) if the tenants have a dispute with the running of the building you will want to have full disclosure Please note if it is less than eighty years it will affect the marketability of the apartment. Check with your lender that they are happy with residual term of the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely require a lease extension sooner rather than later and it is worth finding out how much this will be. For most Newport Pagnelllease extensions you will need to own the property for a couple of years before you are entitled to carry out a lease extension.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Newport Pagnell