Harry (my fiance) and I may need to let out our Bartley Green ground floor flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Bartley Green conveyancing practice in 2001 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

The lease governs relations between the landlord and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will say if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. Most leases in Bartley Green do not prevent an absolute prevention of subletting – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the flat. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

I have recently realised that I have Seventy years unexpired on my flat in Bartley Green. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What should I do?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to find the landlord. In some cases a specialist may be useful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Bartley Green.

Due to sign contracts shortly on a basement flat in Bartley Green. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they are sending me a report next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
• Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?
• You need to be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.

Back In 2001, I bought a leasehold house in Bartley Green. Conveyancing and Barnsley Building Society mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing practitioner in Bartley Green who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Bartley Green conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Bartley Green with the intention of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Bartley Green can be reduced where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• Many landlords or Management Companies in Bartley Green levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Bartley Green.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Bartley Green state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord approving such works. If you dont have the consents to hand do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your lawyer in the first instance.
• If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate can be a time consuming formality and delays many a Bartley Green home move. If a reissued share is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

Bartley Green Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries before buying

It is important to be aware if fixing the lift or some other major work is due in the foreseeable future that will be shared between the leasehold owners and will materially increase the the maintenance fees or require a one time payment. Are any of leasehold owners in arrears of their service charge payments?