I want to rent out my leasehold apartment in Dersingham. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?

A small minority of properties in Dersingham do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord cannot unreasonably withhold 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 permission.

I have recently realised that I have Seventy years remaining on my lease in Dersingham. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. 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 enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the lessor. For most situations a specialist should be useful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document to be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Dersingham.

Back In 2002, I bought a leasehold house in Dersingham. Conveyancing and Barnsley Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. 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 1993. The conveyancing practitioner in Dersingham who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Dersingham conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of flats in Dersingham both have approximately fifty years left on the leases. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease shortens the marketability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more expensive 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 as mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We advise that you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Dersingham. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

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. However, 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).

Dersingham Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should consider before buying

How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments? In the main the cost for major works tend not to be incorporated into the maintenance charges, although a few managing agents in Dersingham require leaseholders to contribute towards a reserve fund created for the specific intention of building a fund for major repairs or maintenance. Where a Dersingham lease has fewer than eighty years it will impact the marketability of the property. Check with your bank that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and it is worth finding out what this will be. Remember, in most cases you will be required to have been the owner of the residence for 24 months before you are entitled to extend the lease.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Dersingham