I want to let out my leasehold apartment in Thames Ditton. 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 Thames Ditton conveyancing lawyer is no longer available you can review your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The rule is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to seek permission via your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior consent. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease prohibits you from letting out the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

Looking forward to exchange soon on a ground floor flat in Thames Ditton. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they will have a report out to me tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Thames Ditton should include some of the following:

• You should be sent a copy of the lease

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Thames Ditton. Conveyancing and Chelsea Building Society mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing solicitor in Thames Ditton who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Thames Ditton conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured 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.

I am employed by a reputable estate agent office in Thames Ditton where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Thames Ditton conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-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 needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is 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.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £325000 apartment in Thames Ditton next Thursday . The landlords agents has quoted £348 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Thames Ditton?

Thames Ditton conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually requires the buyer’s conveyancer submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address these enquiries most will be content to do so. They are entitled invoice a reasonable administration fee for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it is above £800. The management information fee invoiced by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration charges, otherwise the charge is technically not due. Reality however dictates that one has little option but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to sell the property.

I have had difficulty in trying to purchase the freehold in Thames Ditton. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

if there is a missing freeholder or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to assess the price.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Thames Ditton property is Flat D 15 Claremont Gardens in September 2013. TheTribunal determined in accordance with section48 and Schedule13 of the Leasehold Reform,Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 that the premium for the extended lease should be fourteen thousand one hundred and eighty seven pounds (£14,187.00) This case was in relation to 1 flat.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Thames Ditton