I want to sublet my leasehold flat in Henllys. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Notwithstanding that your previous Henllys conveyancing lawyer is no longer available you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the premises. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you must seek consent via your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior consent. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I've found a house that appears to be perfect, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have just been informed that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Henllys. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Henllys ?

The majority of houses in Henllys are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Henllys so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Henllys conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions for example requiring the landlord’sconsent to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your conveyancer will appraise you on the various issues.

I am looking at a couple of maisonettes in Henllys which have about forty five years unexpired on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Henllys is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the salability of the property. The majority of purchasers and banks, leases with less than 75 years become less and less marketable. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Henllys conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Henllys. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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 be sure 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 employed by a busy estate agency in Henllys where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Henllys conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to wait 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 simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

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 purchaser.

Henllys Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

Where a Henllys lease has less than eighty years it will affect the marketability of the property. Check with your bank that they are content with residual term of the lease. A short lease means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease at some point and you need to have some idea of what this would cost. Remember, in most cases you would need to own the premises for two years in order to be entitled to exercise a lease extension. Be sure to find out if there are any onerous prohibitions in the lease. For example plenty of leases prohibit pets being allowed in in a block in Henllys. If you love the apartmentin Henllys but your dog is not allowed to move with you then you will be presented with a hard choice. How is the lease structured?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Henllys