My fiance and I may need to rent out our Woodbury ground floor flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Woodbury conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Even though your last Woodbury conveyancing lawyer is not available 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 allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to obtain consent via your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of first obtaining consent. Such consent should not be unreasonably withheld. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to meet my requirements, at a reasonable price which is making it all the more appealing. I have since discovered that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Woodbury. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Woodbury ?

The majority of houses in Woodbury are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Woodbury in which case you should be looking for a Woodbury conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the landlord’spermission to carry out changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is part of an estate. Your conveyancer should advise you fully on all the issues.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Woodbury. Conveyancing and HSBC Bank mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing solicitor in Woodbury who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

First contact the Land Registry to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a Woodbury conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Woodbury. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner 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).

We expect to complete our sale of a £250000 maisonette in Woodbury next Thursday . The managing agents has quoted £384 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Woodbury?

Woodbury conveyancing on leasehold apartments more often than not necessitates the buyer’s solicitor sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to these enquiries the majority will be willing to assist. 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 costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it exceeds £800. The administration charge levied by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration charges, otherwise the charge is technically not due. Reality however dictates that one has no option but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to sell the property.

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

The prefered form of lease arrangement is where the freehold interest is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this situation the tenants benefit from being in charge if their destiny and even though a managing agent is frequently retained where it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants. What is the name of the managing agents? Where a Woodbury lease has no more than eighty years it will impact the value of the apartment. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are happy with residual term of the lease. A short lease means that you will almost definitely require a lease extension at some point and it is worth finding out how much this would cost. Remember, in most cases you will need to own the premises for 24 months in order to be legally able to carry out a lease extension.

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Lease Extensions in Woodbury