I would like to sublet my leasehold flat in Cinderford. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

A small minority of properties in Cinderford do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably refuse 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 consent.

Planning to sign contracts shortly on a leasehold property in Cinderford. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they will have a report out to me tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Cinderford should include some of the following:

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Cinderford. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

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. Strange as it may seem, 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).

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Cinderford where we have experienced a number of flat sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Cinderford conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. 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.

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 buyer.

Are there common defects that you see in leases for Cinderford properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Cinderford. Most leases are individual and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the property
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You will encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. HSBC Bank, Barnsley Building Society, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Cinderford - Examples of Queries before Purchasing

Is there a share of the freehold? The majority of Cinderford leasehold flats will have a service bill for maintenance of the block levied by the freeholder. Where you purchase the property you will have to pay this amount, normally quarterly throughout the year. This may vary from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large common areas. In all probability there will be a ground rent for you to pay yearly, ordinarily this is not a significant sum, say about £50-£100 but you should to check it because on occasion it can be many hundreds of pounds. In the main the outlay for major works are not included within maintenance charges, albeit that some managing agents in Cinderford require leaseholders to contribute towards a reserve fund created for the specific purpose of establishing a fund for major works.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Cinderford