I own a leasehold flat in Rowlands Gill. Conveyancing and The Royal Bank of Scotland mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing solicitor in Rowlands Gill who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Rowlands Gill conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Rowlands Gill. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

In a situation 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. However, 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 be sure 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 busy estate agent office in Rowlands Gill where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Rowlands Gill conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the owner of a flat can instigate 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 start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is 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 purchaser.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Rowlands Gill from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Rowlands Gill can be reduced if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers representatives.
• Many landlords or managing agents in Rowlands Gill levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Rowlands Gill.

Some Rowlands Gill leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 purchasers or their solicitors.

If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.

If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Organising a duplicate share certificate is often a time consuming process and slows down many a Rowlands Gill conveyancing transaction. Where a new share certificate is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £175000 flat in Rowlands Gill in just under a week. The landlords agents has quoted £396 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Rowlands Gill?

Rowlands Gill conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally involves fees being levied by managing agents :

• Addressing conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Rowlands Gill
• 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 Rowlands Gill leasehold premises is £350. For Rowlands Gill 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 the information.

I inherited a leasehold flat in Rowlands Gill, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Corresponding flats in Rowlands Gill with a long lease are worth £231,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 charged once a year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2106

With just 80 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £10,500 and £12,000 plus costs.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Rowlands Gill