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Top Five Questions relating to Fulford leasehold conveyancing

My fiance and I may need to sub-let our Fulford 1st floor flat for a while due to a new job. We used a Fulford conveyancing firm in 2002 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time seek any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

The lease dictates the relationship between the freeholder and you the flat owner; in particular, it will indicate if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Fulford do not prevent subletting altogether – such a clause 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 sublease.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Fulford. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I work for a long established estate agency in Fulford where we see a number of flat sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Fulford conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. 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 extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Fulford with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Fulford can be avoided where you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers lawyers.
  • Many freeholders or Management Companies in Fulford charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Fulford.
  • A minority of Fulford leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the yearly 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 buyers or their lawyers.
  • If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Obtaining a new share certificate is often a time consuming process and frustrates many a Fulford conveyancing deal. Where a new share is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to double-check by asking your solicitors. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is below 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • What makes a Fulford lease defective?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Fulford is not unique. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain sections are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the premises
    • A duty to insure the building
    • Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
    • Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

    A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Halifax, Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and Aldermore all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

    Fulford Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries before buying

      How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? Does the lease have more than 90 years left? Are there any major works in the near future that will increase the maintenance charges?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Fulford