My wife and I may need to rent out our Brighton ground floor flat temporarily due to a new job. We used a Brighton conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Brighton conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can check your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the property. The accepted inference is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you must obtain permission via your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of first obtaining permission. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably turned down. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord for their consent.

There are only 68 years remaining on my flat in Brighton. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the landlord. For most situations a specialist would be useful to carry out a search and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Brighton.

Looking forward to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Brighton. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they report fully tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Brighton should include some of the following:

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two apartments in Brighton which have approximately 50 years remaining on the leases. should I be concerned?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Brighton is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the marketability of the premises. The majority of purchasers and mortgage companies, leases with under eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of property with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Brighton conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

What are the common defects that you see in leases for Brighton properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Brighton. All leases are individual and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair 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

You may have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Barclays , Norwich and Peterborough 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 grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Brighton - Examples of Queries before buying

It is important to be aware whether redecorating or some other major work is due in the near future to be shared between the leaseholders and will dramatically impact the level of the maintenance fees or result in a specific invoice. If a Brighton lease has fewer than eighty years it will impact the marketability of the flat. It is worth checking with your lender that they are happy with remaining years on the lease. A short lease means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease at some point and it is worth discovering what this will be. For most Brightonlease extensions you will be be obliged to have been the owner of the premises for a couple of years in order to be eligible to extend the lease. Its a good idea to find out as much as you can concerning the company managing the building as they will affect your use and enjoyment of the property. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you are frequently in the clutches of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to every day matters such as the tidiness of the common parts. Enquire of other people what they think of their management. On a final note, be sure you understand the dates that you are obliged pay the maintenance charge to the managing agents and precisely what you get for your money.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Brighton