Harry (my fiance) and I may need to rent out our Chesham ground floor flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We used a Chesham conveyancing firm in 2002 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your last Chesham conveyancing solicitor is no longer around you can review your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to obtain permission from your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet without prior permission. Such consent must not not be unreasonably turned down. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

I have recently realised that I have Fifty years unexpired on my lease in Chesham. I now want to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What options are available to me?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent would be helpful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document which can be used as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Chesham.

I have just appointed agents to market my 2 bed flat in Chesham.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a quarterly service charge demand – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is pay the service charge as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

Back In 2009, I bought a leasehold house in Chesham. Conveyancing and National Westminster Bank mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing practitioner in Chesham who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

First contact HMLR to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Chesham conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I work for a long established estate agent office in Chesham where we see a few flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Chesham conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can commence 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 commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

Chesham Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

It would be prudent to investigate if the the lease contains any onerous restrictions in the lease. For example plenty of leases prohibit pets being permitted in certain buildings in Chesham. If you like the propertyin Chesham however your cat is not allowed to make the move with you then you will be presented with a hard determination. Please tell me if there are any major works in the planning that could add a premium to the service charges? Is the freehold owned jointly by the tenants?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Chesham