I want to let out my leasehold apartment in Charmouth. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Even though your previous Charmouth conveyancing solicitor is not available you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the premises. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to obtain consent via your landlord or some other party before subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior consent. The consent should not be unreasonably withheld. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord for their consent.

I only have Seventy years left on my flat in Charmouth. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What should I do?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the landlord. In some cases an enquiry agent may be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Charmouth.

I am hoping to complete next month on a leasehold property in Charmouth. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they will have a report out to me within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Charmouth should include some of the following:

• Does the lease prevent you from renting out the flat, or having a home office for business

I am attracted to a couple of apartments in Charmouth both have approximately fifty years remaining on the leases. should I be concerned?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Charmouth is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the salability of the premises. For most buyers and lenders, leases with less than eighty years become less and less attractive. 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 premises 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 Charmouth 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.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Charmouth. Do I have any liability for 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).

Leasehold Conveyancing in Charmouth - Sample of Queries before Purchasing

The answer will be useful as a) areas may cause problems for the block as the common areas may begin to deteriorate if services remain unpaid b) if the leaseholders have an issue with the running of the building you will need to know about it How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? Most Charmouth leasehold apartments will have a service bill for the upkeep of the block invoiced by the management company. Should you buy the apartment you will have to pay this amount, usually quarterly accross the year. This can vary from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large common grounds. There will also be a rentcharge to be met yearly, normally this is not a large amount, say about £25-£75 but you should to check as on occasion it could be many hundreds of pounds.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Charmouth