Frank (my husband) and I may need to rent out our Northop basement flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Northop conveyancing practice in 2002 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Northop conveyancing lawyer is not available you can review your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the property. The rule is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you must seek consent via your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet in the absence of first obtaining consent. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably withheld. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I own a leasehold flat in Northop. Conveyancing and Santander mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing practitioner in Northop who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

First contact the Land Registry to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Northop conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Northop. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

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 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 top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Northop with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Northop can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• Many landlords or Management Companies in Northop charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Northop.

In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Northop leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord approving such changes. If you dont have the approvals in place you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer in advance.

Some Northop leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.

You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to verify this via your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is under 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

Completion in due on our sale of a £350000 apartment in Northop next Monday . The freeholder has quoted £396 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Northop?

Northop conveyancing on leasehold flats typically necessitates administration charges invoiced by freeholders :

• Completing pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Northop
• 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 Northop leasehold property is £350. For Northop 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 supply answers.

I purchased a leasehold flat in Northop, conveyancing was carried out in 1995. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Northop with over 90 years remaining are worth £193,000. The ground rent is £60 charged once a year. The lease expires on 21st October 2076

With just 51 years unexpired the likely cost is going to range between £31,400 and £36,200 plus legals.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Northop