My partner and I may need to rent out our Hednesford garden flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Hednesford conveyancing firm in 2002 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Your lease dictates the relationship between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will indicate if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Hednesford do not prevent strict prohibition on subletting – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the flat. In most cases there is a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

I am hoping to complete next month on a studio apartment in Hednesford. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they are sending me a report within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Hednesford should include some of the following:

• The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years

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

Defining your rights in relation to the communal areas in the block.E.G., does the lease grant a right of way over an accessway or hallways?

Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?

Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?

You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions

Responsibility for repairing the window frames For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Hednesford please enquire of your lawyer in advance of your conveyancing in Hednesford

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Hednesford with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Hednesford can be reduced if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• Many freeholders or Management Companies in Hednesford charge for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Hednesford.

In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Hednesford leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Should you fail to have the consents in place do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your lawyer before hand.

If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where a dispute is unsettled. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.

If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Obtaining a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming formality and delays many a Hednesford home move. If a new share is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

We expect to complete our sale of a £200000 flat in Hednesford next Monday . The freeholder has quoted £312 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Hednesford?

For most leasehold sales in Hednesford conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Completing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Hednesford
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Hednesford leasehold property is £350. For Hednesford 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 required to provide the information.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Hednesford what are the most frequent lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in Hednesford is not unique. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain sections are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You could encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Birmingham Midshires, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and TSB all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

Hednesford Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

Make sure you investigate if there are any onerous prohibitions in the lease. For example some leases prohibit pets being permitted in certain buildings in Hednesford. If you like the flatin Hednesford however your cat is not allowed to live with you then you will be faced hard decision. What is the yearly maintenance fee and ground rent? Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge payments?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Hednesford