Leasehold Conveyancing in Cheltenham - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

Get a Quote

Leasehold conveyancing in Cheltenham is more complex than freehold. Your home move will be smoother where you choose a lawyer with a wealth of experience of leasehold conveyancing in Cheltenham and across next step up in loc. The lawyers we recommend have been approved by your lender so use our search tool to check.

Recently asked questions relating to Cheltenham leasehold conveyancing

Jane (my partner) and I may need to sub-let our Cheltenham 1st floor flat for a while due to a new job. We instructed a Cheltenham conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

A lease governs relations between the landlord and you the flat owner; specifically, it will set out if subletting is banned, 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 Cheltenham do not prevent 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 sending a copy of the sublease.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years left on my flat in Cheltenham. I now wish to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. 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 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 magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you have done all that could be expected to find the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent would be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document to be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Cheltenham.

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

In a situation 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. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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).

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Cheltenham conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Cheltenham conveyancing practice) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you make enquires with several firms including non Cheltenham conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be helpful:

  • How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?
  • What are the legal fees for lease extension conveyancing?

    • Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Cheltenham from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

    • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Cheltenham can be reduced if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers conveyancers.
    • The majority freeholders or managing agents in Cheltenham charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for 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 frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Cheltenham.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Cheltenham state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Where you fail to have the approvals to hand do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in advance.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is ongoing. You will have to accept that you will have to 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 ahead of 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 clearly preferable to present the dispute as over rather than ongoing.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Organising a new share certificate is often a time consuming process and frustrates many a Cheltenham home move. Where a reissued share certificate is needed, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

    • I acquired a split level flat in Cheltenham, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Cheltenham with an extended lease are worth £170,000. The ground rent is £50 per annum. The lease terminates on 21st October 2086

    With only 62 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £19,000 and £22,000 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

    The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Cheltenham