I would like to rent out my leasehold flat in Deeside. 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 Deeside do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord cannot unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to see 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 consent.

I have recently realised that I have Fifty years left on my flat in Deeside. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. For most situations a specialist may be useful to conduct investigations and to produce a report which can be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Deeside.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two maisonettes in Deeside which have in the region of forty five years unexpired on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Deeside is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the marketability of the property. For most buyers and mortgage companies, leases with less than eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of property with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Deeside conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Deeside with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Deeside can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• The majority landlords or Management Companies in Deeside charge for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Deeside.

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £125000 garden flat in Deeside next Friday . The managing agents has quoted £360 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Deeside?

Deeside conveyancing on leasehold flats usually involves the buyer’s solicitor sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to such questions the majority will be content to do so. They may levy a reasonable administration fee for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it exceeds £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in relation to administration charges, without which the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that one has little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to sell the property.

I invested in buying a 2 bed flat in Deeside, conveyancing formalities finalised 2006. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Deeside with a long lease are worth £225,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 invoiced every year. The lease ends on 21st October 2095

You have 72 years unexpired the likely cost is going to be between £11,400 and £13,200 plus professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Deeside