I own a freehold property in Kentish Town but nevertheless invoiced for rent, why is this and what is this?

It is rare for properties in Kentish Town and has limited impact for conveyancing in Kentish Town but some freehold properties in England (particularly common in North West England) pay an annual sum known as a Chief Rent or a Rentcharge to a third party who has no other legal interest in the land.

Rentcharge payments are usually between £2.00 and £5.00 per year. Rentcharges date back many centuries, but the Rent Charge Act 1977 barred the generation of fresh rentcharges from 1977 onwards.

Old rentcharges can now be extinguished by making a one off payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence in 2037 is to be dispensed with completely.

My partner and I have arranged a further advance on our home loan from RBS as we want to conduct alterations to our home in Kentish Town. Are we obliged to appoint a bricks and mortar Kentish Town solicitor on the RBS conveyancing panel to handle the paperwork?

RBS do not ordinarily appoint firms on their approved list of lawyers to deal with such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the RBS list.

I currently have a mortgage with UBS for my property in Kentish Town. Conveyancing has been completed months ago. In the event that I decide to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform UBS?

Your original mortgage agreement with UBS will provide that you need their approval before letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of UBS’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact UBS directly. You need not do this via a UBS conveyancing panel solicitor.

Completion of my purchase has taken place for my property in Kentish Town. Conveyancing was of an acceptable standard but I would like to complain about the lender. Who do I contact should I wish to lodge a complaint?

Most banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first port of call should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Care Team at head office. Ordinarily complaints to a lender are sorted out very quickly. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service who will take matters further.

We are buying a house and the solicitor has mentioned Chancel Repair for which the property may be obligated to contribute to as it falls into the area of such a church. She has suggested insurance. Is this really required for conveyancing in Kentish Town

Unless a prior acquisition of the premises took place post 12 October 2013 you could assume that lawyers carrying out conveyancing in Kentish Town to remain encouraging a chancel search and or chancel repair liability policy.

Due to the advice of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Kentish Town in advance of instructing solicitors. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold element to the house. The surveyor has said that some mortgage companies will not give a loan on this type of home.

It varies from the lender to lender. Bank of Scotland has different instructions from Nationwide. If you call us we can check with the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Kentish Town. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Kentish Town to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.

I own a leasehold house in Kentish Town. Conveyancing and Leeds Building Society mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing solicitor in Kentish Town who previously acted has now retired. What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Kentish Town conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am the leaseholder of a two-bedroom flat in Kentish Town. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the premium payable for the purchase of the freehold?

in cases where there is a absentee landlord or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to decide the price.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Kentish Town flat is Flat 2 27 Mackeson Road in December 2012. The Tribunal assessed the value of the lease extension premium at £35,435 and rounded the figure to £35,500 This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 64.77 years.