I am hoping to complete next month on a studio apartment in Peterborough. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they will have a report out to me within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Peterborough should include some of the following:

• Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?

Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?

You need to be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease

Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?

Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?

The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building

What you can do if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Peterborough please ask your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Peterborough

I’m about to sell my ground floor apartment in Peterborough.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

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 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Peterborough. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to 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. 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).

Completion in due on the disposal of our £200000 apartment in Peterborough in 5 days. The managing agents has quoted £360 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Peterborough?

Peterborough conveyancing on leasehold flats nine out of ten times involves fees being invoiced by management companies :

• Addressing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Peterborough
• 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 lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Peterborough leasehold premises is £350. For Peterborough 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 the information.

What are the frequently found problems that you come across in leases for Peterborough properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Peterborough is not unique. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the building
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You could have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. National Westminster Bank, Barnsley Building Society, and Aldermore all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Peterborough - Sample of Queries before Purchasing

You should want to discover as much as possible concerning the company managing the block as they can either make life much simpler or much more difficult. Being a leasehold owner you are often in the clutches of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to every day issues like the upkeep of the common parts. Enquire of other tenants if they are happy with their management. Finally, be sure you understand the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the relevant party and specifically what it includes. What restrictions exist in the Peterborough Lease? Generally speaking the outlay for major works tend not to be wrapped into the maintenance charges, although a few managing agents in Peterborough obliged tenants to pay into a reserve fund and this is used to offset against major repairs or maintenance.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Peterborough