I want to let out my leasehold apartment in Sedbergh. 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 Sedbergh conveyancing solicitor is not around you can review your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the property. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you need to seek permission from your landlord or some other party before subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior permission. The consent must not not be unreasonably turned down. If your lease prohibits you from letting out the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Sedbergh. Conveyancing and TSB mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing solicitor in Sedbergh who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

First contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Sedbergh 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 rightful 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 Sedbergh. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before 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. 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 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 agency in Sedbergh where we have experienced a number of flat sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Sedbergh conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

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 sit tight for 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 simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

Completion in due on the disposal of our £300000 flat in Sedbergh in six days. The management company has quoted £420 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Sedbergh?

Sedbergh conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes ordinarily necessitates administration charges levied by landlords agents :

• Answering conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Sedbergh
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Sedbergh leasehold premises is £350. For Sedbergh 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 supply the information.

Sedbergh Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

What prohibitions are contained in the Sedbergh Lease? How is the lease structured? Does this lease have more than 85 years left?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Sedbergh