Jane (my partner) and I may need to rent out our Easthampstead basement flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Easthampstead conveyancing practice in 2002 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

A lease dictates the relationship between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will indicate if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. The majority of leases in Easthampstead do not contain subletting altogether – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the property. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

I have recently realised that I have 72 years left on my flat in Easthampstead. I am keen to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What should I do?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to track down the lessor. In some cases a specialist may be useful to conduct investigations and prepare a report to 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 vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Easthampstead.

I’m about to sell my garden apartment in Easthampstead.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is pay 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 managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until 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 looking at a two flats in Easthampstead which have in the region of forty five years unexpired on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Easthampstead is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the salability of the property. For most purchasers and banks, leases with less than 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Easthampstead conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I am employed by a reputable estate agency in Easthampstead where we have witnessed a number of flat sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Easthampstead conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension process 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 kick-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 to extend their lease. 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 agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

Easthampstead Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries Prior to buying

Make sure you discover if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. For instance some leases prohibit pets being allowed in in a block in Easthampstead. If you love the apartmentin Easthampstead however your cat is not allowed to live with you then you have a very hard decision. In the main the cost for major works tend not to be wrapped into the maintenance charges, albeit that there some managing agents in Easthampstead ask leaseholders to contribute towards a sinking fund and this is used to offset against major works. It would be prudent to discover as much as you can concerning the company managing the block as they will impact your use and enjoyment of the property. As the owner of a leasehold property you are often at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to every day matters like the tidiness of the communal areas. Don't be shy to ask other people what they think of them. Finally, investigate as to the dates that you are obliged pay the maintenance charge to the relevant party and precisely what you get for your money.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Easthampstead