I wish to let out my leasehold apartment in Seascale. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

Notwithstanding that your previous Seascale conveyancing solicitor is not around you can review your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the premises. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to obtain consent via your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet without prior permission. Such consent should not be unreasonably withheld. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I own a leasehold flat in Seascale. Conveyancing and Norwich and Peterborough Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing practitioner in Seascale who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Seascale conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Seascale. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

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. 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).

I am employed by a long established estate agency in Seascale where we see a number of leasehold sales derailed due to short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Seascale conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that 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. This means that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. 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 disposal of the property.

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 buyer.

We expect to complete our sale of a £150000 flat in Seascale in just under a week. The freeholder has quoted £312 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Seascale?

Seascale conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally necessitates the purchaser’s conveyancer sending enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer such questions the majority will be content to do so. They are entitled invoice a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it is in excess of £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration charges, without which the charge is technically not due. Reality however dictates that you have no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

Seascale Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries Prior to buying

For most Seascale leaseholds the cost for major works are not wrapped into the service charges, although some managing agents in Seascale ask leasehold owners to pay into a sinking fund and this is used to offset against larger repairs or maintenance. It would be a good idea to discover if there are any onerous restrictions in the lease. For instance it is very common in Seascale leases that pets are not allowed in certain buildings in Seascale. If you like the propertyin Seascale yet your cat can’t move with you then you will be faced hard determination. Please inform me if there are any major works on the horizon that will increase the maintenance charges?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Seascale