Jane (my partner) and I may need to rent out our Egremont garden flat temporarily due to a new job. We used a Egremont conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Egremont conveyancing solicitor is no longer around you can review your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the property. The accepted inference is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition 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 first obtaining permission. The consent should not be unreasonably withheld. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I have just appointed agents to market my garden flat in Egremont.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a half-yearly service 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 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.

I am attracted to a couple of maisonettes in Egremont which have approximately forty five years remaining on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Egremont is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the value of the property. For most buyers and mortgage companies, leases with under eighty years become less and less marketable. 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 premises 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 premises 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 Egremont 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 any new 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've recently bought a leasehold flat in Egremont. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to 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. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part 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).

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Egremont with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Egremont can be reduced where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers representatives.
• A minority of Egremont leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the annual 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.

I bought a leasehold flat in Egremont, conveyancing was carried out in 2006. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Equivalent properties in Egremont with over 90 years remaining are worth £195,000. The ground rent is £65 levied per year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2103

With just 78 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £10,500 and £12,000 plus costs.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Egremont