Frank (my husband) and I may need to let out our Rednal garden flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Rednal conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

A small minority of properties in Rednal do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord cannot unreasonably withhold 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 permission.

I have just started marketing my basement apartment in Rednal.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

It best that you pay 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 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Rednal. Conveyancing and Bank of Ireland mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing solicitor in Rednal who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a Rednal conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Rednal with the purpose of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Rednal can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• Many freeholders or Management Companies in Rednal levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Rednal.

Some Rednal leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the annual 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.

If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.

If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Arranging a duplicate share certificate is often a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Rednal conveyancing deal. If a new share certificate is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £175000 flat in Rednal in 8 days. The freeholder has quoted £312 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Rednal?

For most leasehold sales in Rednal 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-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Rednal
• 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 Rednal leasehold property is £350. For Rednal 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 required to provide answers.

Rednal Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries before Purchasing

How is the lease structured? Most Rednal leasehold flats will be liable to pay a service bill for maintenance of the block invoiced by the landlord. Where you purchase the property you will have to pay this contribution, usually periodically throughout the year. This may vary from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal grounds. In all probability there will be a rentcharge for you to pay yearly, ordinarily this is not a large amount, say about £50-£100 but you need to enquire as occasionally it could be many hundreds of pounds. It would be wise to discover as much as possible regarding the managing agents as they can either make life much simpler or uncomfortable. Being a leasehold owner you are often at the mercy of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to practical issues such as the tidiness of the common parts. Ask prospective neighbours what they think of their service. On a final note, find out the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the appropriate party and precisely what it includes.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Rednal