Jane (my partner) and I may need to let out our Hanslope basement flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Hanslope conveyancing practice in 2001 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

A small minority of properties in Hanslope do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord cannot unreasonably withhold but, in such cases, they would need to review references. Experience dictates that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting consent.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my 2 bed apartment in Hanslope.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a half-yearly service charge invoice – what should I do?

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

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Hanslope where we have experienced a number of flat sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Hanslope conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease 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 proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Hanslope from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Hanslope can be avoided if you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• Many landlords or Management Companies in Hanslope levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Hanslope.
• A minority of Hanslope leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the annual 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 have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or settle 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 details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share certificate. Obtaining a new share certificate can be a time consuming process and delays many a Hanslope conveyancing transaction. If a reissued share certificate is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible.

All being well we will complete our sale of a £ 250000 flat in Hanslope next week. The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Hanslope?

Hanslope conveyancing on leasehold flats normally involves the buyer’s conveyancer sending enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to such questions the majority will be willing to do so. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable administration fee for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it is above £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that one has no choice but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

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

Is anyone aware of any major works in the near future that will likely add a premium to the maintenance costs? The best form of lease arrangement is if the freehold interest is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this situation the leaseholders enjoy being in charge if their destiny and although a managing agent is usually retained if the building is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves.