I want to rent out my leasehold apartment in Christchurch. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

Notwithstanding that your last Christchurch conveyancing solicitor is not available you can review your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the lease is silent, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to seek permission from your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet without first obtaining permission. Such consent must not not be unreasonably withheld. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

I’m about to sell my basement flat in Christchurch.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I own a leasehold flat in Christchurch. Conveyancing and Bank of Scotland mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing practitioner in Christchurch who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

First contact HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Christchurch conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I work for a reputable estate agency in Christchurch where we see a few leasehold sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Christchurch conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner 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 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 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 buyer.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Christchurch from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Christchurch can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in Christchurch charge for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Christchurch.
• Some Christchurch leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the annual 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
• If you have had conflict with your landlord 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 property where a dispute is unresolved. You will have to accept that you will have to pay 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 details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.
• If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Obtaining a replacement share certificate can be a lengthy formality and delays many a Christchurch home move. Where a reissued share is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible.

Christchurch Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should consider before Purchasing