Questions and Answers: South Woodham Ferrers leasehold conveyancing
I want to rent out my leasehold flat in South Woodham Ferrers. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?
A lease governs the relationship between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will say if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in South Woodham Ferrers do not contain strict prohibition on subletting – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the flat. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the sublease.
There are only 68 years left on my flat in South Woodham Ferrers. I now wish to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What should I do?
If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to find the freeholder. On the whole a specialist may be useful to try and locate and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering South Woodham Ferrers.
Last month I purchased a leasehold property in South Woodham Ferrers. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before 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. 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 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 employed by a busy estate agency in South Woodham Ferrers where we see a number of flat sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local South Woodham Ferrers conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?
As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.
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 buyer.
All being well we will complete the disposal of our £450000 flat in South Woodham Ferrers in nine days. The freeholder has quoted £420 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in South Woodham Ferrers?
South Woodham Ferrers conveyancing on leasehold flats ordinarily results in administration charges invoiced by management companies :
- Addressing conveyancing due diligence questions
- Where consent is required before sale in South Woodham Ferrers
- Supplying insurance information
- Deeds of covenant upon sale
- Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale
Leasehold Conveyancing in South Woodham Ferrers - Examples of Questions you should ask before buying
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What prohibitions are there in the South Woodham Ferrers Lease?
The prefered form of lease arrangement is if the freehold reversion is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this situation the lessees benefit from being in charge if their destiny and even though a managing agent is frequently retained where it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants.
Its a good idea to discover as much as you can regarding the company managing the block as they can either make your living at the property much simpler or much more difficult. As the owner of a leasehold property you are frequently at the mercy of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to practical matters like the upkeep of the communal areas. You should not be shy to ask prospective neighbours if they are happy with them. In conclusion, be sure you discover the dates that the service charges are due to the relevant party and specifically what it includes.
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