My husband and I may need to let out our Old Woking basement flat for a while due to a new job. We instructed a Old Woking conveyancing practice in 2002 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Some leases for properties in Old Woking do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord cannot 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.

Back In 2000, I bought a leasehold house in Old Woking. Conveyancing and Godiva Mortgages Ltd mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing solicitor in Old Woking who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Old Woking conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Old Woking. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

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. A critical element 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 employed by a long established estate agent office in Old Woking where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Old Woking conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can start 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 need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a Old Woking conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Old Woking conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you speak with several firms including non Old Woking conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be helpful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

Old Woking Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries Prior to Purchasing

How long is the Lease? If a Old Woking lease has fewer than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the salability of the apartment. It is worth checking with your lender that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely need a lease extension at some point and you need to have some idea of what this would cost. Remember, in most cases you will be be obliged to have owned the residence for two years in order to be entitled to exercise a lease extension. Who are the managing agents?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Old Woking