I would like to sublet my leasehold apartment in St Ives. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?

Your lease governs the relationship between the landlord and you the flat owner; in particular, it will say if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in St Ives do not prevent an absolute prevention of subletting – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the property. In most cases there is a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the sublease.

I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor apartment in St Ives.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a quarterly service charge invoice – Do I pay up?

It best that you discharge 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 management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in St Ives. 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 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).

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

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in St Ives can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers lawyers.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? St Ives leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. Should you fail to have the approvals in place you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor in the first instance.

A minority of St Ives leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet 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 you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Arranging a replacement share certificate is often a time consuming formality and slows down many a St Ives home move. Where a duplicate share certificate is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to double-check via your conveyancers. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is below 75 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

We expect to complete the disposal of our £150000 flat in St Ives on Monday in a week. The management company has quoted £408 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in St Ives?

St Ives conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually involves administration charges invoiced by management companies :

• Completing conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in St Ives
• 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 conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for St Ives leasehold premises is £350. For St Ives 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.

I acquired a leasehold flat in St Ives, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in St Ives with a long lease are worth £195,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 yearly. The lease runs out on 21st October 2101

With 76 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £13,300 and £15,400 plus professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in St Ives