Helen (my wife) and I may need to sub-let our Berkeley 1st floor flat for a while due to a new job. We used a Berkeley conveyancing firm in 2002 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time seek any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Berkeley conveyancing lawyer is no longer available you can review your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the property. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you must seek consent via your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of first obtaining consent. The consent must not not be unreasonably turned down. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I own a leasehold house in Berkeley. Conveyancing and Alliance & Leicester mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing practitioner in Berkeley who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Berkeley conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Berkeley conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Berkeley conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you speak with several firms including non Berkeley conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be useful:

• How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?

If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Berkeley from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Berkeley can be avoided where you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• The majority landlords or Management Companies in Berkeley charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Berkeley.

If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Berkeley leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord approving such alterations. Where you dont have the consents to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your lawyer in advance.

A minority of Berkeley leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your conveyancers. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is below 80 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £475000 apartment in Berkeley in 5 days. The management company has quoted £384 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Berkeley?

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

• Answering conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Berkeley
• 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 Berkeley leasehold premises is £350. For Berkeley 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 Berkeley - Sample of Queries Prior to buying

Most Berkeley leasehold flats will have a service charge for the upkeep of the building levied on behalf of the landlord. Should you buy the property you will have to pay this contribution, usually periodically during the year. This could vary from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large communal areas. In all probability there will be a rentcharge to be met yearly, this is usually not a large amount, say approximately £25-£75 but you need to check as occasionally it could be surprisingly expensive. The prefered form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this scenario the leaseholders benefit from being in charge if their destiny and even though a managing agent is often employed where it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent employed by the leaseholders. Does the lease have more than 82 years left?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Berkeley