I would like to sublet my leasehold flat in Carlisle. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Even though your previous Carlisle conveyancing lawyer is no longer available you can review your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the premises. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you must seek consent via your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior consent. The consent must not not be unreasonably withheld. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 68 years unexpired on my lease in Carlisle. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. 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 an order 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 have done all that could be expected to track down the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent would be helpful to try and locate and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Carlisle.

Back In 2005, I bought a leasehold flat in Carlisle. Conveyancing and Barclays mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing solicitor in Carlisle who previously acted has now retired.Any advice?

First contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Carlisle conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Carlisle where we have experienced a few flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Carlisle conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence 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 wait 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 purchaser.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Carlisle what are the most frequent lease problems?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Carlisle. All leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses 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 premises
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You could 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. Nationwide Building Society, Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and Bank of Ireland all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

Carlisle Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

Best to be warned whether fixing the lift or some other significant cost is coming up that will be shared by the tenants and will dramatically increase the the service charges or result in a specific payment. Generally speaking the cost for major works are not included within maintenance charges, although there some managing agents in Carlisle require leasehold owners to pay into a reserve fund created for the specific purpose of building a fund for major repairs or maintenance. What prohibitions exist in the Carlisle Lease?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Carlisle