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East Riding Villages leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

Frank (my husband) and I may need to let out our East Riding Villages ground floor flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We instructed a East Riding Villages conveyancing firm in 2001 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?

A small minority of properties in East Riding Villages do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord cannot unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to see references. Experience suggests 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 consent.

I am hoping to complete next month on a ground floor flat in East Riding Villages. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they will have a report out to me tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in East Riding Villages should include some of the following:

  • You should be sent a copy of the lease
  • You need to be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
  • The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
  • The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames
  • What you can do if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in East Riding Villages please enquire of your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in East Riding Villages

    • Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in East Riding Villages. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

    In a situation 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. 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).

    I am employed by a reputable estate agency in East Riding Villages where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local East Riding Villages conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

    As long as 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. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

    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 purchaser.

    Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in East Riding Villages from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in East Riding Villages can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
    • Many landlords or managing agents in East Riding Villages levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding 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 cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in East Riding Villages.
  • Some East Riding Villages leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 buyers or their lawyers.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Organising a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming formality and slows down many a East Riding Villages home move. Where a new share is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

    • I acquired a leasehold flat in East Riding Villages, conveyancing was carried out 8 years ago. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Equivalent flats in East Riding Villages with over 90 years remaining are worth £251,000. The ground rent is £65 invoiced annually. The lease runs out on 21st October 2091

    With 65 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £15,200 and £17,600 plus costs.

    The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in East Riding Villages