Jane (my partner) and I may need to rent out our Abercarn ground floor flat temporarily due to a new job. We used a Abercarn conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

The lease governs the relationship between the freeholder and you the flat owner; in particular, it will say if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. Most leases in Abercarn do not prevent subletting altogether – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the property. In most cases there is a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the sublease.

I have recently realised that I have 68 years remaining on my flat in Abercarn. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What are my options?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the landlord. For most situations a specialist should be useful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document which can be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Abercarn.

Planning to complete next month on a basement flat in Abercarn. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they will have a report out to me on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

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

• You should receive a copy of the lease

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in Abercarn where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Abercarn conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities 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. This means that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with 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 purchaser.

What are the frequently found problems that you witness in leases for Abercarn properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Abercarn is not unique. All leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain provisions 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 building
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Birmingham Midshires, Barnsley Building Society, and TSB all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

Abercarn Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries Prior to buying

Plenty Abercarn leasehold properties will have a service bill for the upkeep of the building invoiced on behalf of the management company. Should you buy the property you will have to meet this charge, normally in instalments during the year. This could vary from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal areas. There will also be a rentcharge to be met yearly, normally this is not a large figure, say about £50-£100 but you should to check it because sometimes it can be many hundreds of pounds. What restrictions exist in the Abercarn Lease? Best to be warned whether changing the roof or some other significant cost is coming up to be shared amongst the leasehold owners and may well dramatically increase the the service costs or require a one time payment.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Abercarn