Helen (my wife) and I may need to sub-let our Woldingham garden flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Woldingham conveyancing practice in 2001 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Some leases for properties in Woldingham do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord cannot unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to see references. Experience dictates that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting permission.

I only have 68 years unexpired on my lease in Woldingham. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent may be helpful to try and locate and prepare a report which can be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Woldingham.

Back In 2002, I bought a leasehold flat in Woldingham. Conveyancing and The Royal Bank of Scotland mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing solicitor in Woldingham who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

First contact HMLR to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Woldingham conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. 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.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Woldingham from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Woldingham can be reduced if you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
• The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Woldingham levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Woldingham.

A minority of Woldingham leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.

If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over rather than ongoing.

If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Arranging a re-issued share certificate is often a time consuming formality and delays many a Woldingham home move. Where a new share certificate is needed, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

Completion in due on the sale of our £500000 maisonette in Woldingham in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £408 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Woldingham?

Woldingham conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually involves administration charges levied by management companies :

• Completing pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Woldingham
• Supplying insurance information
• 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 Woldingham leasehold property is £350. For Woldingham 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.

Notwithstanding our best efforts, we have been unsuccessful in trying to purchase the freehold in Woldingham. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

in cases where there is a missing landlord or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the LVT to determine the premium.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Woldingham flat is 223 Brighton Road in September 2013. The premium payable for the acquisition freehold of the properties should be £10,934 (Ten thousand,nine hundred and thirty four pounds) This case related to 3 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 75 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Woldingham