My partner and I may need to let out our Blakeney garden flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We used a Blakeney conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Even though your last Blakeney conveyancing solicitor is no longer around you can review your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the premises. The accepted inference is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to obtain consent from your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of first obtaining consent. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably turned down. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Back In 2000, I bought a leasehold flat in Blakeney. Conveyancing and National Westminster Bank mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing solicitor in Blakeney who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Blakeney conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am attracted to a couple of flats in Blakeney which have in the region of 50 years left on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in Blakeney. The lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As a lease shortens the marketability of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is advisable to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage companies may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We advise that you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Blakeney. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure 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 Blakeney where we have experienced a few flat sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Blakeney conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is 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.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Blakeney - Sample of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

Many Blakeney leasehold apartments will be liable to pay a service charge for maintenance of the building levied on behalf of the management company. Should you purchase the apartment you will have to pay this contribution, usually quarterly throughout the year. This may be anything from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large common grounds. In all likelihood there will be a ground rent for you to pay yearly, this is usually not a exorbitant sum, say around £50-£100 but you should to enquire it because sometimes it can be many hundreds of pounds. This information is helpful as a) areas can result in problems in the building as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate if maintenance are not paid for b) if the tenants have an issue with the running of the building you will want to have all the details What prohibitions are there in the Blakeney Lease?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Blakeney