I would like to sublet my leasehold apartment in Haywards Heath. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?

Your lease dictates relations between the landlord and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will say if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. Most leases in Haywards Heath do not prevent an absolute prevention of subletting – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the flat. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a copy of the tenancy agreement.

Expecting to sign contracts shortly on a leasehold property in Haywards Heath. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they will have a report out to me on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Haywards Heath should include some of the following:

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my 2 bed flat in Haywards Heath.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

It best that you pay 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 busy estate agency in Haywards Heath where we have experienced a number of flat sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Haywards Heath conveyancing solicitors. Could 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?

As long as the seller has been the owner 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 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 sale.

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.

What makes a Haywards Heath lease unacceptable for security purposes?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Haywards Heath. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. HSBC Bank, Barnsley Building Society, and Alliance & Leicester all have very detailed conveyancing instructions 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 grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

Haywards Heath Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should consider before buying

It is important to be aware if redecorating or some other significant cost is pending that will be shared by the leaseholders and will materially increase the the service fees or result in a one off payment. Does the lease have onerous restrictions? If a Haywards Heath lease has less than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the value of the property. Check with your mortgage company that they are content with residual term of the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely 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 will need to own the property for two years before you are entitled to carry out a lease extension.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Haywards Heath