Frank (my husband) and I may need to let out our Gatley basement flat temporarily due to a new job. We used a Gatley conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Gatley conveyancing lawyer is not available you can check your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the premises. The rule is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you must seek consent via your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining consent. The consent should not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 68 years remaining on my lease in Gatley. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, 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 lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to track down the freeholder. In some cases a specialist would be useful to try and locate and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Gatley.

I have just appointed agents to market my basement apartment in Gatley.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a half-yearly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to meet my requirements, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently discovered that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Gatley. Conveyancing lawyers have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Gatley are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in Gatley in which case you should be shopping around for a Gatley conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the freeholder’spermission to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is located on an estate. Your lawyer will advise you fully on all the issues.

What makes a Gatley lease problematic?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Gatley. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain sections are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the premises
• A duty to insure the building
• 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 will have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Santander, Leeds Building Society, and Britannia all have express conveyancing instructions 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 purchaser to pull out.

Gatley Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should ask before buying

Is anyone aware of any major works on the horizon that could increase the service charges? If a Gatley lease has no more than 80 years it will affect the salability of the property. It is worth checking with your bank that they are content with remaining years on the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease at some point and you need to have some idea of what this will be. Remember, in most cases you would need to own the property for two years before you are eligible to extend the lease. On the whole the cost for major works are not included within service charges, although there some managing agents in Gatley ask tenants to pay into a reserve fund created for the specific purpose of building a fund for larger repairs or maintenance.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Gatley