Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Altrincham:

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Altrincham leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

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

Notwithstanding that your last Altrincham conveyancing lawyer is not available you can review your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The rule is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to seek permission from your landlord or some other party before subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet without prior consent. The consent must not not be unreasonably turned down. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I own a leasehold flat in Altrincham. Conveyancing and HSBC Bank mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing practitioner in Altrincham who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

First contact HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Altrincham conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

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

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. However, 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 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).

I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Altrincham where we have witnessed a few flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Altrincham conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having 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.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Altrincham from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Altrincham can be reduced where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
  • Many freeholders or managing agents in Altrincham levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Altrincham.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Altrincham leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Where you fail to have the approvals to hand do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your lawyer first.
  • If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 as opposed to ongoing.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should verify this by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • Altrincham Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should ask before buying

      Generally speaking the outlay for major works are not wrapped into the service charges, although some managing agents in Altrincham ask leaseholders to pay into a reserve fund created for the specific intention of building a fund for major repairs or maintenance. How much is the annual maintenance fee and ground rent? It would be prudent to discover if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. For instance it is reasonably common in Altrincham leases that pets are not permitted in certain buildings in Altrincham. If you like the apartmentin Altrincham however your cat is not allowed to make the move with you then you will be faced hard decision.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Altrincham