I would like to let out my leasehold apartment in Perranporth. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?

Even though your previous Perranporth conveyancing solicitor is not around you can check your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you must obtain consent via your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. This means that you cannot sublet without prior consent. Such consent must not not be unreasonably withheld. If your lease prohibits you from letting out the property you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I have just started marketing my basement apartment in Perranporth.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a half-yearly service charge demand – what should I do?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge 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 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.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Perranporth. Conveyancing and Halifax mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing solicitor in Perranporth who acted for me is not around.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 indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Perranporth conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am employed by a reputable estate agency in Perranporth where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Perranporth conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner 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. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

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.

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Perranporth conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Perranporth conveyancing firm) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Perranporth 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 of use:

• How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?

Perranporth Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries before Purchasing

Is there a share of the freehold? This question is useful as a) areas could result in problems in the block as the common areas may start to deteriorate if services remain unpaid b) if the leaseholders have a dispute with the running of the building you will need to have all the details Are any of leasehold owners in arrears of their service charge liability?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Perranporth