My fiance and I may need to rent out our Fairwater ground floor flat temporarily due to a new job. We used a Fairwater conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

A small minority of properties in Fairwater do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord cannot unreasonably withhold but, in such cases, they would need to see references. Experience suggests 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.

Back In 2007, I bought a leasehold house in Fairwater. Conveyancing and HSBC Bank mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in Fairwater who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

First contact the Land Registry to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Fairwater conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I work for a busy estate agent office in Fairwater where we see a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Fairwater conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can commence 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. This means that the buyer can avoid having 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 sale.

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.

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Fairwater conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Fairwater conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you talk with two or three firms including non Fairwater conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be of use:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £300000 flat in Fairwater next week. The freeholder has quoted £312 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Fairwater?

Fairwater conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes more often than not involves the buyer’s lawyer submitting enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to such questions most will be content to do so. They are entitled charge a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it is in excess of £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality one has no option but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

Fairwater Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should consider before buying

If a Fairwater lease has no more than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the marketability of the property. Check with your mortgage company that they are willing to lend given the lease term. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely need a lease extension sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of what this would cost. For most Fairwaterlease extensions you will be be obliged to have owned the residence for a couple of years before you are legally able to carry out a lease extension. How is the lease structured? How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Fairwater