My wife and I may need to rent out our Woodley ground floor flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Woodley conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Even though your last Woodley conveyancing lawyer is not around you can review your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The rule is that if the lease is silent, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to seek permission via your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of first obtaining permission. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably withheld. If the lease prohibits you from letting out the property you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Planning to exchange soon on a basement flat in Woodley. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they report fully tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• Setting out your rights in respect of common areas in the block.For example, does the lease include a right of way over an accessway or hallways?
• You should be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
• An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• Repair and maintenance of the flat
• The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?

Back In 2000, I bought a leasehold house in Woodley. Conveyancing and Skipton Building Society mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing solicitor in Woodley who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

First contact the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Woodley conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Woodley. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

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. Strange as it may seem, 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).

Are there common problems that you come across in leases for Woodley properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Woodley. Most leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the premises
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You will encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Birmingham Midshires, Coventry Building Society, and Barclays Direct all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to pull out.

Woodley Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries Prior to Purchasing

How much is the ground rent and service charge? Many Woodley leasehold properties will be liable to pay a service bill for the upkeep of the building invoiced on behalf of the landlord. Where you acquire the flat you will have to pay this charge, usually periodically accross the year. This can be anything from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. In all likelihood there will be a rentcharge to be met annual, normally this is not a significant sum, say about £25-£75 but you need to enquire as occasionally it could be many hundreds of pounds.