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Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in Chellaston

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Chellaston. Before diving in I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Chellaston - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

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

Notwithstanding that your previous Chellaston conveyancing lawyer is not available you can review your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the property. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must seek consent via your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining permission. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Chellaston. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

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. Strange as it may seem, 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).

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Chellaston where we have witnessed a number of flat sales put at risk due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Chellaston conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?

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. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as 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 buyer.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Chellaston with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Chellaston can be reduced if you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers conveyancers.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Chellaston state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Should you dont have the approvals in place do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer first.
  • Some Chellaston leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the yearly 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Organising a re-issued share certificate can be a lengthy process and frustrates many a Chellaston home move. If a duplicate share certificate is needed, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible.

    • Chellaston Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should ask before buying

      How is the lease structured? How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments? You should be aware if it is less than eighty years it will impact the value of the apartment. It is worth checking with your lender that they are willing to go ahead with the loan given the lease term. A short lease means that you will almost definitely need a lease extension at some point and it is worth finding out how much this would cost. For most Chellastonlease extensions you will need to own the premises for a couple of years before you are legally able to carry out a lease extension.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Chellaston