Recently asked questions relating to Chesterfield leasehold conveyancing
My wife and I may need to let out our Chesterfield 1st floor flat temporarily due to a new job. We used a Chesterfield conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?
A small minority of properties in Chesterfield do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably withhold but, in such cases, they would need to review references. Experience dictates that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting permission.
There are only Sixty One years left on my flat in Chesterfield. I need to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What are my options?
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 magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent may be helpful to carry out a search and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Chesterfield.
I am attracted to a couple of maisonettes in Chesterfield both have in the region of 50 years remaining on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?
There are plenty of short leases in Chesterfield. The lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease decreases and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is generally wise to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage companies may be unwilling to lend money on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area
I've recently bought a leasehold property in Chesterfield. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?
Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner 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).
I am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in Chesterfield where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Chesterfield conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser 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 prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.
Alternatively, it may be possible 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.
I own a 1st floor flat in Chesterfield, conveyancing was carried out in 2010. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Comparable properties in Chesterfield with a long lease are worth £169,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 charged once a year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2084
With 59 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to range between £22,800 and £26,400 as well as professional fees.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. 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 move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.
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