I am intending to sublet my leasehold apartment in Barnard Castle. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?

A small minority of properties in Barnard Castle do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to see 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 permission.

I am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in Barnard Castle. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they will have a report out to me next week. What should I be looking out for?

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

• You should be sent a copy of the lease

The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years

You should be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease

Repair and maintenance of the flat

Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)

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

What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Barnard Castle please ask your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in Barnard Castle

I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Barnard Castle where we see a number of flat sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Barnard Castle conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 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 at the same time as completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is 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.

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

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Barnard Castle can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
• The majority landlords or Management Companies in Barnard Castle levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Barnard Castle.

If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Barnard Castle state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord approving such changes. If you fail to have the paperwork to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in advance.

If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is ongoing. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or settle 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 are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.

If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Organising a duplicate share certificate can be a lengthy process and slows down many a Barnard Castle home move. If a reissued share certificate is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

All being well we will complete our sale of a £200000 garden flat in Barnard Castle in nine days. The managing agents has quoted £312 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Barnard Castle?

Barnard Castle conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes nine out of ten times results in administration charges invoiced by freeholders :

• Completing pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Barnard Castle
• 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 lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Barnard Castle leasehold premises is £350. For Barnard Castle 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 the information.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Barnard Castle - Examples of Queries before Purchasing

What is the service charge and ground rent on the flat? Where a Barnard Castle lease has fewer than eighty years it will impact the marketability of the flat. Check with your mortgage company that they are happy with residual term of the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease at some point and you need to have some idea of how much this would cost. Remember, in most cases you would need to own the premises for two years in order to be entitled to extend the lease. Best to be warned whether a new roof is being installed or some other significant cost is due in the foreseeable future that will be shared by the leasehold owners and will materially impact the level of the service fees or require a specific invoice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Barnard Castle