Harry (my fiance) and I may need to rent out our Burnley garden flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Burnley conveyancing firm in 2002 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

A lease dictates relations between the landlord and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will say 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 permitted. Most leases in Burnley do not contain an absolute prevention of subletting – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the flat. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the sublease.

There are only Seventy years remaining on my flat in Burnley. I need to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent would be helpful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be used as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Burnley.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Burnley. Conveyancing and Lloyds TSB Bank mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Burnley who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

First contact HMLR to be sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Burnley conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Burnley. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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).

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Burnley from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Burnley can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Burnley state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord consenting to such works. Where you fail to have the approvals to hand you should not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in the first instance.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Burnley - Sample of Queries Prior to Purchasing

Is anyone aware of any major works anticipated that will add a premium to the maintenance fees? What restrictions are contained in the Burnley Lease? The best form of lease arrangement is if the freehold title is owned by the leaseholders. In this situation the lessees benefit from control and even though a managing agent is usually employed where the building is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Burnley