I am intending to rent out my leasehold apartment in Ascot. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

A lease governs the relationship between the landlord and you the flat owner; in particular, it will set out if subletting is banned, 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 Ascot do not prevent strict prohibition on subletting – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the flat. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a copy of the tenancy agreement.

I have recently realised that I have 62 years left on my flat in Ascot. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What options are available to me?

If you qualify, 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 enable the lease to be extended by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to locate the lessor. On the whole a specialist may be helpful to carry out a search and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Ascot.

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

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Ascot conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you make enquires with several firms including non Ascot conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

• What volume of lease extensions have they conducted in Ascot in the last 12 months?

What are the charges for lease extension conveyancing?

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Ascot from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Ascot can be avoided if you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers lawyers.
• A minority of Ascot 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 put in hand financial (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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.

If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.

If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Arranging a replacement share certificate can be a time consuming formality and slows down many a Ascot home move. Where a reissued share is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this as soon as possible.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to double-check by asking your conveyancers. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is less than 75 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £275000 maisonette in Ascot on Monday in a week. The landlords agents has quoted £336 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Ascot?

Ascot conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually necessitates fees being raised by freeholders :

• Answering pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Ascot
• 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 Ascot leasehold premises is £350. For Ascot 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 obliged to provide the information.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Ascot - Sample of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

It would be wise to discover if there are any onerous restrictions in the lease. By way of example it is very common in Ascot leases that pets are not allowed in certain buildings in Ascot. If you love the apartmentin Ascot however your cat is not allowed to move with you then you have a very difficult decision. It is important to be aware if redecorating or some other major work is coming up that will be shared between the leaseholders and may well dramatically impact the level of the service costs or necessitate a specific invoice. How long is the Lease?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Ascot