Harry (my fiance) and I may need to rent out our Cinderford 1st floor flat temporarily due to a new job. We used a Cinderford conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have closed 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 small minority of properties in Cinderford 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 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 am looking at a two flats in Cinderford which have about 50 years remaining on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Cinderford. The lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Cinderford. Do I have any liability for 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 employed by a long established estate agency in Cinderford where we see a number of flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Cinderford conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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 can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

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 Cinderford with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Cinderford can be reduced where you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers representatives.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Cinderford leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. If you fail to have the paperwork in place you should not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in the first instance.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Cinderford - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

It would be prudent to find out as much as possible concerning the managing agents as they can either make your living at the property much simpler or much more difficult. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you are often in the clutches of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to daily issues like the tidiness of the communal areas. Enquire of prospective neighbours whether they are happy with them. In conclusion, find out the dates that you are obliged pay the maintenance charge to the appropriate party and precisely what it includes. On the whole the outlay for major works are not incorporated into the service charges, albeit that there some managing agents in Cinderford obliged leaseholders to pay into a sinking fund and this is used to offset against larger repairs or maintenance. What is the name of the managing agents?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Cinderford