Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Beverley. Before diving in I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

If the lease is registered - and almost all are in Beverley - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

Harry (my fiance) and I may need to rent out our Beverley 1st floor flat for a while due to a new job. We used a Beverley conveyancing practice in 2002 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Your lease governs relations between the landlord and you the flat owner; specifically, it will indicate if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The rule is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Beverley do not prevent strict prohibition on subletting – such a provision 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 copy of the tenancy agreement.

I only have Seventy years remaining on my flat in Beverley. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to locate the landlord. On the whole a specialist may be helpful to try and locate and to produce a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Beverley.

I am attracted to a two maisonettes in Beverley both have approximately 50 years left on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Beverley. The lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease reduces and it becomes more costly to extend the lease. This is why it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We advise that you get professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Beverley what are the most common lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in Beverley is not unique. All leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. National Westminster Bank, Bank of Scotland, and Bank of Ireland all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Beverley - Sample of Queries before buying

The answer will be helpful as a) areas can cause problems in the building as the common areas may start to deteriorate if maintenance remain unpaid b) if the tenants have an issue with the managing agents you will want to know about it Make sure you investigate if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. For instance it is very common in Beverley leases that pets are not permitted in in a block in Beverley. If you like the flatin Beverley but your cat can’t make the move with you then you have a very hard choice. How much is the ground rent and service charge?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Beverley