My partner and I may need to rent out our Bishops Cleeve garden flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Bishops Cleeve conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Some leases for properties in Bishops Cleeve do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord cannot unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to see references. Experience dictates that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting consent.

I have recently realised that I have Sixty One years unexpired on my lease in Bishops Cleeve. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What options are available to me?

If you qualify, 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 enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to locate the lessor. For most situations a specialist may be helpful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Bishops Cleeve.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my garden apartment in Bishops Cleeve.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a quarterly service charge demand – what should I do?

It best that you clear the service charge 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 management companies 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

Back In 2000, I bought a leasehold house in Bishops Cleeve. Conveyancing and Barclays mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing practitioner in Bishops Cleeve who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Bishops Cleeve conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

What are the common deficiencies that you come across in leases for Bishops Cleeve properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Bishops Cleeve. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain provisions are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the property
• Insurance obligations
• 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

You could encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Yorkshire Building Society, Bank of Scotland, and Aldermore all have very detailed 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, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

Bishops Cleeve Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

Most Bishops Cleeve leasehold properties will be liable to pay a service charge for maintenance of the block set on behalf of the management company. Should you acquire the apartment you will have to meet this charge, normally periodically during the year. This can differ from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large common grounds. There will also be a ground rent to be met annual, this is usually not a large amount, say around £50-£100 but you should to check it because sometimes it can be surprisingly expensive. Who are the managing agents?