Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Plympton. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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).

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Plympton where we have experienced a few leasehold sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Plympton conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means 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 at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Plympton conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Plympton conveyancing firm) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you make enquires with several firms including non Plympton conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be of use:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

We expect to complete our sale of a £225000 flat in Plympton in just under a week. The management company has quoted £348 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Plympton?

Plympton conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes more often than not involves the buyer’s lawyer sending enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address these enquiries most will be content to do so. They are entitled invoice a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it exceeds £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the charge is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that you have little option but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

What makes a Plympton lease unmortgageable?

Leasehold conveyancing in Plympton is not unique. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain sections are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• 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

A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Halifax, Leeds Building Society, and Bank of Ireland all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to pull out.

Plympton Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries before Purchasing

How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? The best form of lease structure is a share of the freehold. In this arrangement the tenants have control and notwithstanding that a managing agent is usually employed if it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent employed by the leaseholders. Does this lease have more than 82 years left?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Plympton