My partner and I may need to rent out our Darwen ground floor flat for a while due to a new job. We instructed a Darwen conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time get any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Darwen conveyancing solicitor is no longer around you can review your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to seek consent via your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior permission. The consent must not not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my 2 bed apartment in Darwen.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a yearly service charge demand – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is pay the invoice 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.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Darwen. Conveyancing and Lloyds TSB Bank mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing solicitor in Darwen who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Darwen conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Darwen which have about fifty years unexpired on the lease term. should I be concerned?

A lease is a right to use the property for a period of time. As a lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We advise that you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Darwen with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Darwen can be reduced where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Darwen leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord approving such alterations. Where you dont have the approvals to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer in the first instance.
• Some Darwen leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the yearly 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 purchasers or their lawyers.
• 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 concerned about purchasing a flat where a dispute is unsettled. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Obtaining a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming formality and delays many a Darwen home move. If a new share certificate is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

Darwen Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should ask before buying