My fiance and I may need to sub-let our Chapeltown ground floor flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Chapeltown conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

A lease governs relations between the freeholder and you the flat owner; specifically, it will say if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Chapeltown do not prevent an absolute prevention of subletting – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the property. In most cases there is a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the sublease.

I today plan to offer on a house that seems to be perfect, at a reasonable price which is making it more attractive. I have just discovered that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Chapeltown. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Chapeltown are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Chapeltown so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Chapeltown conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions for example obtaining the landlord’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your conveyancer should appraise you on the various issues.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Chapeltown with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Chapeltown can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in Chapeltown charge for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Chapeltown.

Some Chapeltown leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.

If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as over rather than ongoing.

If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Organising a new share certificate is often a lengthy formality and slows down many a Chapeltown conveyancing transaction. Where a new share is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £275000 garden flat in Chapeltown in just under a week. The landlords agents has quoted £348 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Chapeltown?

For most leasehold sales in Chapeltown conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Completing pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Chapeltown
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Chapeltown leasehold premises is £350. For Chapeltown conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to supply the information.

What are the frequently found problems that you see in leases for Chapeltown properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Chapeltown. All leases are unique and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You could have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Lloyds TSB Bank, Barnsley Building Society, and Bank of Ireland all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Chapeltown - Sample of Queries before Purchasing

You should be aware that where the lease has no more than eighty years it will impact the salability of the apartment. Check with your bank that they are content with residual term of the lease. A short lease means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of how much this would cost. For most Chapeltownlease extensions you will be required to have been the owner of the residence for a couple of years in order to be eligible to extend the lease. The best form of lease structure is where the freehold title is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this scenario the tenants benefit from being in charge if their destiny and notwithstanding that a managing agent is frequently employed if the building is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants. How long is the Lease?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Chapeltown