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

Even though your previous Thornhill conveyancing solicitor is not around you can check your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the property. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to seek permission from your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of 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 the lease prohibits you from letting out the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Sixty One years remaining on my lease in Thornhill. I now want to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. What are my options?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to locate the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent should be useful to try and locate and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Thornhill.

Planning to exchange soon on a leasehold property in Thornhill. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they report fully on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Thornhill should include some of the following:

• You should receive a copy of the lease

Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?

Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)

Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?

The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building

Responsibility for repairing the window frames

What you can do if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Thornhill please ask your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Thornhill

I am attracted to a two apartments in Thornhill both have about 50 years remaining on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As a lease shortens the marketability of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is generally wise to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage companies may be reluctant to lend money on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We advise that you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £500000 apartment in Thornhill in just under a week. The management company has quoted £348 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Thornhill?

For most leasehold sales in Thornhill conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Answering pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Thornhill
• 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 solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Thornhill leasehold premises is £350. For Thornhill 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 obliged to supply answers.

Thornhill Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries Prior to Purchasing

Is anyone aware of any major works in the planning that will increase the maintenance costs? The prefered form of lease structure is a share of the freehold. In this scenario the leaseholders benefit from control and even though a managing agent is frequently retained if it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves. Who is in charge of the block?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Thornhill