I would like to sublet my leasehold flat in Brinklow. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

Notwithstanding that your last Brinklow conveyancing lawyer is no longer around you can review your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The rule is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to obtain permission via your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior permission. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably turned down. If the lease prohibits you from letting out the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I am attracted to a two flats in Brinklow both have in the region of 50 years unexpired on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Brinklow 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 buyers and mortgage companies, leases with less than 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 property 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 a residence 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 Brinklow 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 You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. 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.

I work for a long established estate agency in Brinklow where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Brinklow conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 buyer.

We expect to complete the disposal of our £275000 apartment in Brinklow next week. The management company has quoted £408 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Brinklow?

Brinklow conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes more often than not necessitates the purchaser’s solicitor sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to such questions most will be content to do so. They may invoice a reasonable administration fee for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it exceeds £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of rights and obligations in respect of administration charges, without which the charge is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that one has little choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

What makes a Brinklow lease unmortgageable?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Brinklow. All leases are unique and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain sections 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 building
• 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 will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Barclays , Coventry Building Society, and Nottingham Building Society all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

Brinklow Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should consider before buying

Please note if it is less than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the salability of the property. Check with your mortgage company that they are content with remaining years on the lease. A short lease means that you will probably have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of what this would cost. Remember, in most cases you will need to own the premises for two years before you are eligible to extend the lease. What is the name of the managing agents? The best form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this arrangement the tenants benefit from control and even though a managing agent is frequently employed where the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Brinklow