My wife and I may need to rent out our Abergele basement flat temporarily due to a new job. We used a Abergele conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

A lease governs relations between the landlord and you the flat owner; in particular, it will set out if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. Most leases in Abergele do not contain subletting altogether – 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.

I have just started marketing my garden flat in Abergele.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a half-yearly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is clear the service charge 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 unless 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.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Abergele which have approximately forty five years left on the leases. should I be concerned?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As the lease shortens the value of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is generally wise to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We advise that you get professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Abergele with the aim of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Abergele can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Abergele leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord approving such alterations. Where you fail to have the consents in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer in advance.

A minority of Abergele leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.

If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is unresolved. You may have to bite the bullet 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 prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.

If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share certificate. Organising a replacement share certificate is often a lengthy process and slows down many a Abergele conveyancing deal. If a reissued share is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £275000 apartment in Abergele on Tuesday in a week. The freeholder has quoted £408 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Abergele?

Abergele conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally involves fees being levied by freeholders :

• Addressing pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Abergele
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Abergele leasehold premises is £350. For Abergele conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to provide answers.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Abergele - Examples of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

Be sure to find out if there are any onerous prohibitions in the lease. For example it is very common in Abergele leases that pets are not permitted in in a block in Abergele. If you love the propertyin Abergele yet your cat is not allowed to live with you then you will be presented with a hard determination. It is important to be aware whether a new roof is being installed or some other significant cost is coming up that will be shared by the leaseholders and will dramatically increase the the service fees or result in a one off invoice. The answer will be useful as a) areas can cause problems in the building as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate where maintenance are not paid for b) if the tenants have an issue with the running of the building you will want to have full disclosure

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Abergele