Harry (my fiance) and I may need to rent out our Exminster ground floor flat temporarily due to a new job. We used a Exminster conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Exminster conveyancing lawyer is not around you can check your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the property. The rule is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must seek consent from your landlord or some other party before subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior permission. The consent should not be unreasonably turned down. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

There are only Fifty years unexpired on my flat in Exminster. I now wish to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to locate the lessor. On the whole a specialist should be useful to carry out a search and prepare a report to be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Exminster.

Due to exchange soon on a studio apartment in Exminster. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they report fully within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

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

I own a leasehold house in Exminster. Conveyancing and Coventry Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing practitioner in Exminster who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Exminster conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in Exminster where we have witnessed a number of flat sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Exminster conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease 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 buyer need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as 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 buyer.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Exminster - Sample of Questions you should consider before buying

Make sure you investigate if there are any onerous prohibitions in the lease. For instance plenty of leases prohibit pets being allowed in in a block in Exminster. If you love the apartmentin Exminster yet your dog can’t move with you then you will be faced hard compromise. Are there any major works in the planning that could increase the service fees? What is the yearly maintenance fee and ground rent?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Exminster