Harry (my fiance) and I may need to let out our Hellesdon garden flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Hellesdon conveyancing firm in 2002 but they have since shut 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?

Even though your previous Hellesdon conveyancing solicitor is not around you can check your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the property. The accepted inference is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to obtain consent from your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior consent. Such consent should not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord for their consent.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Hellesdon. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to 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. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element 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).

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Hellesdon with the aim of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Hellesdon can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• The majority landlords or Management Companies in Hellesdon levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Hellesdon.

In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Hellesdon leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord approving such changes. Where you fail to have the consents in place do not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer before hand.

A minority of Hellesdon leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the yearly 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 purchasers or their solicitors.

If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate can be a time consuming process and slows down many a Hellesdon conveyancing transaction. Where a reissued share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £250000 apartment in Hellesdon on Thursday in a week. The management company has quoted £372 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Hellesdon?

Hellesdon conveyancing on leasehold flats normally results in fees being levied by managing agents :

• Addressing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Hellesdon
• Supplying insurance information
• 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 Hellesdon leasehold property is £350. For Hellesdon 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 supply the information.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Hellesdon what are the most frequent lease defects?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Hellesdon. All leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain sections are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the premises
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You may encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. HSBC Bank, The Mortgage Works, and Clydesdale 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 provide security, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

I acquired a leasehold flat in Hellesdon, conveyancing formalities finalised 2012. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Hellesdon with over 90 years remaining are worth £170,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 levied per year. The lease expires on 21st October 2078

With just 53 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to span between £27,600 and £31,800 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range 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 due diligence. You should 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. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Hellesdon