I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Christchurch. Before I get started I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Christchurch - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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.

My fiance and I may need to sub-let our Christchurch basement flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Christchurch conveyancing practice in 2002 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Some leases for properties in Christchurch do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably withhold but, in such cases, they would need to review references. Experience suggests 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.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Christchurch. Am I liable to pay 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. 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).

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Christchurch from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Christchurch can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• Many landlords or managing agents in Christchurch levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Christchurch.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Christchurch what are the most frequent lease defects?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Christchurch. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the building
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. National Westminster Bank, Coventry Building Society, and Nottingham Building Society all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

Christchurch Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

The answer will be important as a) areas may cause problems in the block as the common areas may start to deteriorate where repairs are not paid for b) if the tenants have a dispute with the managing agents you will want to have full disclosure How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments? The prefered form of lease arrangement is if the freehold title is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this situation the tenants benefit from being in charge if their destiny and notwithstanding that a managing agent is frequently retained if it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent employed by the leaseholders.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Christchurch