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Any conveyancing practice can theoretically handle your leasehold conveyancing in Glan Conwy, your mortgage provider may unwilling to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Top Five Questions relating to Glan Conwy leasehold conveyancing

My wife and I may need to rent out our Glan Conwy garden flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We used a Glan Conwy conveyancing practice in 2001 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Even though your last Glan Conwy conveyancing lawyer is not available you can review your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you must obtain consent via your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet without prior permission. Such consent must not not be unreasonably withheld. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Glan Conwy. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner 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 be sure 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 reputable estate agency in Glan Conwy where we see a few leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Glan Conwy conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that 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 for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is 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.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a Glan Conwy conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Glan Conwy conveyancing practice) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you make enquires with several firms including non Glan Conwy conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

  • What volume of lease extensions has the firm conducted in Glan Conwy in the last 12 months?
  • What are the legal fees for lease extension work?

    • Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Glan Conwy with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Glan Conwy can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
    • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Glan Conwy leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Where you fail to have the paperwork in place do not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer first.
  • If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share certificate. Arranging a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming process and slows down many a Glan Conwy conveyancing transaction. If a reissued share is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is less than 80 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • I purchased a 1st floor flat in Glan Conwy, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Glan Conwy with over 90 years remaining are worth £187,000. The ground rent is £45 invoiced annually. The lease ends on 21st October 2079

    With 55 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £25,700 and £29,600 as well as legals.

    The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Glan Conwy