My husband and I may need to rent out our Alfreton garden flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Alfreton conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

A small minority of properties in Alfreton do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord cannot unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to review references. Experience dictates that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting consent.

There are only Sixty One years left on my flat in Alfreton. I now wish to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to find the landlord. For most situations an enquiry agent would be helpful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Alfreton.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Alfreton. 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 lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, 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).

I am employed by a long established estate agency in Alfreton where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Alfreton conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, 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 buyer.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Alfreton conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Alfreton conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Alfreton conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be useful:

• How many lease extensions has the firm carried out in Alfreton in the last 12 months?

Alfreton Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

You will want to find out as much as possible concerning the company managing the building as they will either make life much simpler or uncomfortable. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you will be at the mercy of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to practical issues like the upkeep of the communal areas. Ask other tenants what they think of them. Finally, find out the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the relevant party and specifically what you get for your money. Are there any major works in the planning that will increase the service charges? Plenty Alfreton leasehold properties will have a service bill for maintenance of the block invoiced on behalf of the management company. If you buy the flat you will have to meet this liability, usually quarterly during the year. This can be anything from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built blocks. There will also be a ground rent for you to pay annual, normally this is not a exorbitant amount, say around £50-£100 but you need to check as on occasion it could be many hundreds of pounds.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Alfreton