Helen (my wife) and I may need to rent out our Harwich 1st floor flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Harwich conveyancing practice in 2002 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

A small minority of properties in Harwich do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably withhold but, in such cases, they would need to see 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 permission.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Harwich. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

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 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 am a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Harwich where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Harwich conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller 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 sit tight for 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 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 purchaser.

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Harwich conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Harwich conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Harwich conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be useful:

• How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?

What volume of lease extensions have they carried out in Harwich in the last twenty four months?

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £125000 garden flat in Harwich next Thursday . The freeholder has quoted £300 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Harwich?

Harwich conveyancing on leasehold apartments typically necessitates fees being invoiced by management companies :

• Addressing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Harwich
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Harwich leasehold premises is £350. For Harwich conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to supply answers.

I purchased a ground floor flat in Harwich, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2005. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Harwich with a long lease are worth £190,000. The ground rent is £55 invoiced annually. The lease ceases on 21st October 2087

With just 61 years left to run the likely cost is going to range between £20,900 and £24,200 as well as professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Harwich