Jane (my partner) and I may need to sub-let our Ewloe basement flat for a while due to a new job. We instructed a Ewloe conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

A small minority of properties in Ewloe do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to review references. Experience dictates 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 permission.

Planning to exchange soon on a ground floor flat in Ewloe. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they report fully next week. What should I be looking out for?

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

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder

Whether the lease restricts you from renting out the property, or having a home office for business

An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has

Repair and maintenance of the flat

Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?

Responsibility for repairing the window frames

What you can do if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease? For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Ewloe please enquire of your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Ewloe

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agency in Ewloe 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 received inconsistent advice from local Ewloe conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that 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. This means that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Ewloe with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Ewloe can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• A minority of Ewloe leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 purchasers or their solicitors.

If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where a dispute is ongoing. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.

If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Arranging a new share certificate is often a time consuming process and slows down many a Ewloe home move. Where a duplicate share is required, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to double-check by asking your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the remaining number of years is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £400000 apartment in Ewloe next week. The landlords agents has quoted £372 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Ewloe?

Ewloe conveyancing on leasehold flats ordinarily necessitates administration charges levied by management companies :

• Addressing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Ewloe
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Ewloe leasehold premises is £350. For Ewloe conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to supply answers.

Ewloe Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

What is the maintenance charge and ground rent on the apartment? What prohibitions are there in the Ewloe Lease? Many Ewloe leasehold flats will have a service charge for maintenance of the block invoiced by the landlord. If you acquire the apartment you will have to meet this contribution, normally periodically throughout the year. This may be anything from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built blocks. In all probability there will be a rentcharge for you to pay yearly, ordinarily this is not a exorbitant amount, say around £25-£75 but you should to enquire it because on occasion it can be many hundreds of pounds.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Ewloe