I would like to let out my leasehold flat in Dursley. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Even though your last Dursley conveyancing lawyer is not available you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to seek permission from your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of first obtaining consent. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably turned down. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

There are only Seventy years left on my lease in Dursley. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What options are available to me?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to find the freeholder. For most situations a specialist would be helpful to try and locate and prepare an expert document which can be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Dursley.

I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor flat in Dursley.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should clear 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've found a house that seems to meet my requirements, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have just been informed that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in Dursley. Conveyancing solicitors have are soon to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Dursley are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Dursley in which case you should be looking for a Dursley conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a lessee you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the landlord’spermission to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your solicitor should advise you fully on all the issues.

I work for a long established estate agency in Dursley where we have experienced a few leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Dursley conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is 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.

Dursley Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries Prior to Purchasing

Who takes charge for maintaining and repairing the block? If a Dursley lease has no more than 80 years it will impact the value of the apartment. Check with your mortgage company that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will probably require a lease extension at some point and you need to have some idea of what this will be. Remember, in most cases you would be required to have been the owner of the premises for 24 months in order to be eligible to extend the lease. Its a good idea to discover as much as possible regarding the company managing the block as they can either make life much easier or problematic. As the owner of a leasehold property you will be in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to practical issues like the upkeep of the common parts. Enquire of other tenants what they think of their management. In conclusion, investigate as to the dates that the service charges are due to the appropriate party and precisely what it includes.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Dursley