Jane (my partner) and I may need to sub-let our Hessle 1st floor flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We used a Hessle conveyancing practice in 2001 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

A lease dictates the relationship between the freeholder and you the flat owner; 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 expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Hessle do not prevent subletting altogether – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the flat. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a copy of the tenancy agreement.

I am attracted to a two apartments in Hessle which have approximately fifty years left on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Hessle is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the salability of the premises. For most buyers and mortgage companies, leases with under eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property 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 premises 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 Hessle conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new 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.

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Hessle conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Hessle conveyancing firm) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you make enquires with several firms including non Hessle conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• How familiar is the firm with lease extension legislation?

If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Hessle from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Hessle can be avoided where you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Hessle state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Should you fail to have the consents to hand do not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor in advance.

A minority of Hessle leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.

If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check via your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is below 80 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

Completion in due on our sale of a £325000 flat in Hessle in just under a week. The management company has quoted £396 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Hessle?

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

• Addressing pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Hessle
• 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 Hessle leasehold property is £350. For Hessle 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 provide answers.

Hessle Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries Prior to buying

How long is the Lease? Most Hessle leasehold flats will have a service charge for maintenance of the building set by the freeholder. Should you acquire the property you will have to meet this liability, normally in instalments accross the year. This may vary from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large communal areas. There will also be a rentcharge to be met yearly, this is usually not a exorbitant sum, say around £50-£100 but you should to enquire as occasionally it can be prohibitively expensive. The answer will be helpful as a) areas can cause problems in the building as the common areas may begin to deteriorate if services remain unpaid b) if the tenants have a dispute with the managing agents you will wish to have full disclosure

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Hessle