I am intending to rent out my leasehold apartment in Abbey Wood. 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 previous Abbey Wood 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 non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to seek consent from your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet without prior permission. Such consent must not not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease prohibits you from letting out the property you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor flat in Abbey Wood.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

It best that you pay the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

Back In 2006, I bought a leasehold house in Abbey Wood. Conveyancing and Bank of Ireland mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing solicitor in Abbey Wood who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Abbey Wood conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Abbey Wood. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before 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. However, 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).

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Abbey Wood with the purpose of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Abbey Wood can be avoided if you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Abbey Wood charge for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Abbey Wood.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Abbey Wood leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Should you dont have the consents to hand do not contact the landlord without contacting your solicitor in advance.
• If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where a dispute is ongoing. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over rather than ongoing.
• You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to verify this via your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord for a lease extension without any joy. Can one make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Abbey Wood conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?

if there is a absentee landlord or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to determine the price.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Abbey Wood flat is Various @ Colombus Square in January 2012. the Tribunal calculated the premiums to be paid for new leases for each of the flats in Mariners Walk to be £3822 and the premium to be paid for the new lease of 2 Knights Court to be £4439. This case was in relation to 13 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 76 years.

Abbey Wood Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries before Purchasing

The answer will be important as a) areas can result in problems in the building as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate if maintenance remain unpaid b) if the leasehold owners have a dispute with the managing agents you will need to have all the details How much is the maintenance charge and ground rent on the property?