Helen (my wife) and I may need to rent out our Ditchling 1st floor flat temporarily due to a new job. We used a Ditchling conveyancing firm in 2002 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your last Ditchling conveyancing solicitor is no longer around you can review your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the premises. The accepted inference is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to obtain consent from your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet in the absence of first obtaining permission. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease prohibits you from letting out the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

I have just started marketing my 2 bed flat in Ditchling.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a half-yearly service charge invoice – what should I do?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should 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 managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless 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.

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in Ditchling where we have witnessed a number of flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Ditchling conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner 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 need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done 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 advice for leasehold conveyancing in Ditchling with the aim of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Ditchling can be avoided where you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• Many freeholders or Management Companies in Ditchling levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Ditchling.

All being well we will complete the sale of our £325000 garden flat in Ditchling next Monday . The managing agents has quoted £360 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Ditchling?

Ditchling conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes often necessitates the purchaser’s conveyancer submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address these enquiries the majority will be content to do so. They are entitled levy a reasonable administration fee for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it is in excess of £800. The management information fee demanded by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the invoice is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that you have no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

I own a 1st floor flat in Ditchling, conveyancing formalities finalised 2006. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Ditchling with a long lease are worth £185,000. The ground rent is £55 invoiced annually. The lease ceases on 21st October 2096

You have 71 years left to run the likely cost is going to range between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as legals.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Ditchling