My fiance and I may need to let out our Brough basement flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Brough conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Your lease governs the relationship between the landlord and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will set out if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. The majority of leases in Brough do not prevent subletting altogether – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the property. In most cases there is a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the sublease.

I have just started marketing my garden flat in Brough.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge the service charge as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two maisonettes in Brough both have approximately fifty years remaining on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Brough is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the value of the property. For most purchasers and banks, 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 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 premises 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 Brough conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend 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 any new 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 am a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Brough where we have experienced a number of flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Brough conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm 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 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 can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

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.

What are your top tips when it comes to appointing a Brough conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

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

• How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?

Brough Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries Prior to buying

Plenty Brough leasehold properties will have a service charge for the upkeep of the block levied on behalf of the freeholder. Should you acquire the flat you will have to pay this amount, usually in instalments during the year. This could be anything from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built blocks. In all probability there will be a ground rent to be met yearly, ordinarily this is not a significant sum, say approximately £50-£100 but you should to enquire as occasionally it could be surprisingly expensive. Does this lease have in excess of 85 years unexpired? Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge payments?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Brough