My husband and I may need to sub-let our Avonmouth garden flat for a while due to a new job. We instructed a Avonmouth conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Avonmouth conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the premises. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to obtain consent via your landlord or some other party before subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of first obtaining consent. Such consent must not not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease prohibits you from letting out the property you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I am hoping to exchange soon on a leasehold property in Avonmouth. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they report fully next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Avonmouth should include some of the following:

• The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and informed of the importance of the 80 year mark

Defining your rights in respect of the communal areas in the block.E.G., does the lease grant a right of way over an accessway or staircase?

Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?

Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)

Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?

The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building

Responsibility for repairing the window frames For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Avonmouth please enquire of your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Avonmouth

I own a leasehold house in Avonmouth. Conveyancing and Aldermore mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in Avonmouth who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

First contact HMLR to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Avonmouth conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £475000 garden flat in Avonmouth on Wednesday in a week. The freeholder has quoted £420 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Avonmouth?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Avonmouth conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Completing pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Avonmouth
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• 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 Avonmouth leasehold property is £350. For Avonmouth 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.

Are there frequently found problems that you encounter in leases for Avonmouth properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Avonmouth is not unique. Most leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain sections are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the property
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You may encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Halifax, Skipton Building Society, and Alliance & Leicester all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

Avonmouth Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries before buying

Where a Avonmouth lease has no more than eighty years it will affect the salability of the apartment. It is worth checking with your bank that they are happy with residual term of the lease. A short lease means that you will most likely have to extend the lease at some point and you need to have some idea of what this will be. Remember, in most cases you will need to own the premises for 24 months before you are entitled to carry out a lease extension. Generally speaking the cost for major works are not built into the maintenance charges, albeit that there some managing agents in Avonmouth require leaseholders to pay into a sinking fund created for the specific intention of building a fund for major works. What is the the remaining lease term?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Avonmouth