I wish to let out my leasehold apartment in Forest of Dean. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

Notwithstanding that your last Forest of Dean conveyancing solicitor is not available you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the premises. The rule is that if the lease is silent, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you need to seek consent via your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet without prior permission. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Sixty One years remaining on my lease in Forest of Dean. I need to extend my lease 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 an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to find the lessor. For most situations a specialist would be useful to try and locate and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Forest of Dean.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my 2 bed flat in Forest of Dean.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you discharge the invoice 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Forest of Dean from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Forest of Dean can be avoided if you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers conveyancers.
• The majority landlords or managing agents in Forest of Dean levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Forest of Dean.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Forest of Dean state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. Should you fail to have the consents to hand you should not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in advance.
• If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable double-check via your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is under 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Forest of Dean what are the most frequent lease defects?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Forest of Dean. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You may have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Santander, Coventry Building Society, and TSB all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

Forest of Dean Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries Prior to Purchasing

This information is helpful as a) areas may result in problems in the block as the communal areas may start to deteriorate where maintenance are not paid for b) if the leaseholders have an issue with the managing agents you will wish to have all the details