I want to let out my leasehold flat in Bridlington. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Your lease governs the relationship between the landlord and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will set out if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Bridlington do not contain subletting altogether – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the flat. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the sublease.

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Bridlington conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Bridlington conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Bridlington conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

• Can they put you in touch with client in Bridlington who can give a testimonial?

What are the costs for lease extension work?

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Bridlington with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Bridlington can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Bridlington leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. Should you dont have the consents in place do not contact the landlord without checking with your lawyer before hand.

A minority of Bridlington leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.

If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where a dispute is unresolved. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing.

You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to verify this via your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is under 80 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £500000 maisonette in Bridlington next Monday . The managing agents has quoted £348 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Bridlington?

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

• Answering pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Bridlington
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Bridlington leasehold property is £350. For Bridlington 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 provide the information.

What makes a Bridlington lease unacceptable for security purposes?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Bridlington. All leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
• 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 can cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Santander, Coventry Building Society, and TSB 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 defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

Bridlington Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries before Purchasing

Generally speaking the cost for major works tend not to be included within service charges, albeit that there some managing agents in Bridlington obliged leaseholders to contribute towards a sinking fund created for the specific purpose of building a fund for larger repairs or maintenance. The best form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this arrangement the leaseholders enjoy control and even though a managing agent is frequently employed if it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent employed by the leaseholders. Who takes responsibility for maintaining and repairing the block?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Bridlington