Frank (my husband) and I may need to rent out our Bedwas 1st floor flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We used a Bedwas conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Even though your last Bedwas conveyancing lawyer is not available you can check your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to seek permission from your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet without prior consent. The consent should not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease prohibits you from letting out the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I’m about to sell my garden apartment in Bedwas.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

It best that you clear the invoice 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I own a leasehold flat in Bedwas. Conveyancing and Barclays Direct mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing practitioner in Bedwas who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Bedwas conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two flats in Bedwas which have approximately forty five years unexpired on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Bedwas. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the value of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a Bedwas conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Bedwas conveyancing practice) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you speak with two or three firms including non Bedwas conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

• How familiar is the firm with lease extension legislation?

I am the registered owner of a basement flat in Bedwas, conveyancing formalities finalised 9 years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Corresponding flats in Bedwas with a long lease are worth £206,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 charged once a year. The lease ends on 21st October 2088

You have 66 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £15,200 and £17,600 as well as costs.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive investigations. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Bedwas