My fiance and I may need to let out our Blakeney 1st floor flat for a while due to a new job. We used a Blakeney conveyancing practice in 2002 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 Blakeney conveyancing lawyer is no longer available you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the property. The accepted inference is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must obtain permission from your landlord or some other party before subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining consent. The consent must not not be unreasonably withheld. If your lease prohibits you from letting out the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

I have recently realised that I have Seventy years unexpired on my flat in Blakeney. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, 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 enable the lease to be lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to find the lessor. For most situations a specialist would be helpful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Blakeney.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently discovered that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a leasehold house in Blakeney. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Blakeney are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Blakeney in which case you should be looking for a Blakeney conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a lessee you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the landlord’sconsent to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the house is part of an estate. Your lawyer will appraise you on the various issues.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Blakeney from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Blakeney can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• The majority landlords or Management Companies in Blakeney charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Blakeney.

A minority of Blakeney leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.

If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Obtaining a re-issued share certificate is often a time consuming formality and delays many a Blakeney home move. If a new share certificate is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable verify this via your lawyers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is below 75 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

Completion in due on our sale of a £375000 garden flat in Blakeney on Wednesday in a week. The landlords agents has quoted £372 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Blakeney?

For most leasehold sales in Blakeney conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Addressing conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Blakeney
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Blakeney leasehold premises is £350. For Blakeney 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 supply the information.

I acquired a leasehold flat in Blakeney, conveyancing was carried out in 2006. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Corresponding properties in Blakeney with an extended lease are worth £195,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 per annum. The lease ends on 21st October 2098

With only 78 years unexpired the likely cost is going to be between £7,600 and £8,800 as well as professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Blakeney