Jane (my partner) and I may need to sub-let our Droylsden basement flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Droylsden conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time seek any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Your lease dictates relations between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will indicate if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. The majority of leases in Droylsden do not contain subletting altogether – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the property. In most cases there is a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the sublease.

I only have Fifty years remaining on my flat in Droylsden. I need to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. What should I do?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent may be useful to conduct investigations and to produce a report which can be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Droylsden.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two flats in Droylsden both have about 50 years left on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the saleability 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 companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Droylsden. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner 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 ensure 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).

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Droylsden from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Droylsden can be reduced where you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
• Some Droylsden leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.

Droylsden Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

Who takes responsibility for maintaining and repairing the block? How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments? If a Droylsden lease has no more than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the marketability of the flat. Check with your lender that they are content with remaining years on the lease. A short lease means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and it is worth finding out how much this will be. For most Droylsdenlease extensions you will need to own the residence for a couple of years in order to be eligible to extend the lease.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Droylsden