I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Elland. Before diving in I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Elland - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

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

Even though your last Elland conveyancing lawyer is not available you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the property. The rule is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you must obtain permission via your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior permission. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Elland. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

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).

I work for a long established estate agent office in Elland where we see a few flat sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Elland conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension process 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. 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 has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

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.

Completion in due on our sale of a £400000 flat in Elland in six days. The managing agents has quoted £396 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Elland?

Elland conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes often necessitates the buyer’s solicitor sending questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer these enquiries the majority will be content to assist. They may charge a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is in excess of £800. The administration charge demanded by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the charge is technically not due. Reality however dictates that one has little choice but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Elland - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

The best form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this arrangement the tenants benefit from being in charge if their destiny and although a managing agent is often employed where the building is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves. The answer will be useful as a) areas can cause problems in the block as the common areas may start to deteriorate if maintenance are not paid for b) if the leasehold owners have a dispute with the running of the building you will want to know about it If a Elland lease has less than 80 years it will impact the value of the flat. It is worth checking with your bank that they are happy with residual term of the lease. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely have to extend the lease at some point and you need to have some idea of what this will be. For most Ellandlease extensions you will need to own the premises for a couple of years before you are entitled to extend the lease.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Elland