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

A small minority of properties in Penistone 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 consent.

I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor flat in Penistone.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is clear the service charge 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 unless 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.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Penistone. Conveyancing and Accord Mortgages Ltd mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing solicitor in Penistone who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Penistone conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am employed by a busy estate agency in Penistone where we see a few flat sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Penistone conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as 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 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.

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £175000 garden flat in Penistone in six days. The managing agents has quoted £300 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Penistone?

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

• Answering pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Penistone
• 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 Penistone leasehold property is £350. For Penistone 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 answers.

Penistone Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries Prior to Purchasing

Where a Penistone lease has fewer than 80 years it will affect the salability of the flat. Check with your lender that they are happy with the length of the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will probably have to extend the lease at some point and you need to have some idea of what this would cost. Remember, in most cases you will need to own the property for a couple of years before you are entitled to exercise a lease extension. This information is useful as a) areas could cause problems in the block as the common areas may begin to deteriorate where maintenance are not paid for b) if the leasehold owners have a dispute with the managing agents you will wish to know about it In the main the outlay for major works tend not to be included within maintenance charges, although a few managing agents in Penistone obliged tenants to contribute towards a reserve fund and this is used to offset against major works.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Penistone