I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Melbourne. Before diving in I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Melbourne - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

I wish to sublet my leasehold apartment in Melbourne. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

Your lease dictates the relationship between the freeholder and you the flat owner; in particular, it will set out if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Melbourne do not contain an absolute prevention of subletting – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the flat. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Melbourne. Conveyancing and The Mortgage Works mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Melbourne who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Melbourne conveyancing solicitor 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 rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Melbourne where we see a number of flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Melbourne conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

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 purchaser.

We expect to complete the sale of our £300000 maisonette in Melbourne in 8 days. The freeholder has quoted £372 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Melbourne?

Melbourne conveyancing on leasehold flats usually requires the buyer’s lawyer sending enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address these enquiries the majority will be content to do so. They are entitled levy a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it is above £800. The administration charge demanded by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration charges, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality you have little option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

Melbourne Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries Prior to Purchasing

The answer will be important as a) areas can result in problems for the building as the communal areas may start to deteriorate where maintenance remain unpaid b) if the leaseholders have an issue with the managing agents you will wish to have all the details What prohibitions are there in the Melbourne Lease? In the main the cost for major works tend not to be incorporated into the maintenance charges, albeit that some managing agents in Melbourne ask leasehold owners to pay into a sinking fund and this is used to offset against larger works.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Melbourne