Harry (my fiance) and I may need to let out our Barnard Castle basement flat temporarily due to a new job. We instructed a Barnard Castle conveyancing firm in 2002 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

A lease governs relations between the landlord and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will indicate if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. Most leases in Barnard Castle do not prevent an absolute prevention of subletting – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the property. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the sublease.

I’m about to sell my garden flat in Barnard Castle.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a yearly service charge invoice – what should I do?

It best that you pay 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 until 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two apartments in Barnard Castle both have in the region of forty five years remaining on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Barnard Castle is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the marketability of the property. The majority of purchasers and banks, leases with less than 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of property with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Barnard Castle conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I work for a reputable estate agent office in Barnard Castle where we have witnessed a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Barnard Castle conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can start 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 commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

Completion in due on the sale of our £ 175000 apartment in Barnard Castle next week. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Barnard Castle?

Barnard Castle conveyancing on leasehold flats normally requires the buyer’s solicitor submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer these enquiries most will be willing to assist. They are entitled invoice a reasonable administration fee for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it is above £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that one has little choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to complete the sale of your home.

Barnard Castle Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

What is the length of the lease? How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments?