My partner and I may need to let out our Duxford ground floor flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Duxford conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Duxford conveyancing solicitor is not around you can review your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to seek consent from your landlord or some other party before subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior consent. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease prohibits you from letting out the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my 2 bed apartment in Duxford.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge the service charge 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 management companies 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

Back In 2001, I bought a leasehold house in Duxford. Conveyancing and Bank of Ireland mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing solicitor in Duxford who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Duxford conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am looking at a couple of flats in Duxford both have approximately forty five years unexpired on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises 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 recommend you get professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £300000 garden flat in Duxford next week. The landlords agents has quoted £396 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Duxford?

Duxford conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually requires the purchaser’s lawyer submitting enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer these enquiries the majority will be willing to assist. They are entitled charge a reasonable administration fee for responding to questions 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 transactions it is above £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. In reality one has little option but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to complete the sale of your home.

Duxford Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries before buying

What prohibitions are there in the Duxford Lease? How much is the maintenance charge and ground rent on the apartment? Plenty Duxford leasehold flats will incur a service charge for maintenance of the block set on behalf of the management company. If you purchase the flat you will have to pay this charge, normally in instalments throughout the year. This can be anything from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built blocks. In all probability there will be a rentcharge to be met annual, this is usually not a exorbitant amount, say around £50-£100 but you should to check it because sometimes it could be many hundreds of pounds.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Duxford