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Frequently asked questions relating to Plympton leasehold conveyancing

Frank (my husband) and I may need to sub-let our Plympton garden flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We used a Plympton conveyancing practice in 2001 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Your lease governs relations between the landlord and you the flat owner; in particular, it will say if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. The majority of leases in Plympton do not prevent an absolute prevention of subletting – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the flat. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a copy of the sublease.

I’m about to sell my ground floor apartment in Plympton.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

It best that you 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 managing agents 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 found a house that seems to be perfect, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have just been informed that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Plympton. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Plympton are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Plympton so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Plympton conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the freeholder’spermission to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your solicitor will report to you on the legal implications.

Back In 2005, I bought a leasehold house in Plympton. Conveyancing and Norwich and Peterborough Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Plympton who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Plympton conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Plympton from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

  • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Plympton can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Plympton state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord approving such changes. Where you dont have the consents to hand do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer first.
  • A minority of Plympton leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
  • If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where a dispute is ongoing. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should ensure that you hold the original share document. Organising a replacement share certificate can be a lengthy formality and delays many a Plympton conveyancing deal. If a duplicate share certificate is needed, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

    • Plympton Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should consider before buying

      Please note that where the lease has no more than eighty years it will affect the value of the property. Check with your bank that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. A short lease means that you will probably have to extend the lease at some point and it is worth finding out how much this would cost. For most Plymptonlease extensions you would be be obliged to have been the owner of the premises for 24 months in order to be eligible to extend the lease. On the whole the cost for major works are not included within service charges, although a few managing agents in Plympton require leaseholders to pay into a reserve fund and this is used to offset against major works. Is anyone aware of any major works in the near future that could increase the maintenance charges?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Plympton