I wish to sublet my leasehold apartment in Biddenham. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

Even though your previous Biddenham conveyancing lawyer is no longer around 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 allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to seek consent via your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior consent. Such consent should not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease prohibits you from letting out the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 62 years unexpired on my lease in Biddenham. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the lessor. On the whole a specialist should be helpful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document to be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Biddenham.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Biddenham. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I am employed by a reputable estate agency in Biddenham where we have experienced a number of flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Biddenham conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner 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 need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 purchaser.

What makes a Biddenham lease unacceptable for security purposes?

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

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Lloyds TSB Bank, Coventry Building Society, and Alliance & Leicester all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

I acquired a ground floor flat in Biddenham, conveyancing having been completed 1998. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Corresponding properties in Biddenham with an extended lease are worth £184,000. The ground rent is £55 levied per year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2083

With 57 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to range between £28,500 and £33,000 as well as costs.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

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Lease Extensions in Biddenham