Harry (my fiance) and I may need to let out our Frenchay 1st floor flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Frenchay conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

The lease governs the relationship between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will say if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. The majority of leases in Frenchay do not contain an absolute prevention of subletting – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the flat. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years remaining on my flat in Frenchay. I am keen to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. What should I do?

If 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 enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to find the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent would be helpful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Frenchay.

I’m about to sell my basement flat in Frenchay.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is discharge the service charge 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.

I am looking at a couple of apartments in Frenchay which have approximately forty five years unexpired on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Frenchay is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the marketability of the premises. The majority of buyers and banks, leases with less than eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Frenchay conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Frenchay with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Frenchay can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Frenchay state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Should you dont have the paperwork to hand you should not contact the landlord without checking with your lawyer before hand.

Frenchay Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries before buying

The best form of lease arrangement is if the freehold reversion is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this situation the tenants benefit from being in charge if their destiny and notwithstanding that a managing agent is usually employed where the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves. Who takes responsibility for maintaining and repairing the building? Best to be warned if a new roof is being put on or some other significant cost is due in the near future that will be shared by the leaseholders and may well materially increase the the maintenance costs or require a one time invoice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Frenchay