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Heswall leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

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

Notwithstanding that your previous Heswall conveyancing lawyer is not around you can review your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the premises. The rule is that if the lease is silent, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to seek consent from 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 turned down. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I’m about to sell my ground floor apartment in Heswall.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a yearly service charge demand – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay the service charge 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 managing agents 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.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Heswall. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

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. It is an essential part 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).

I work for a reputable estate agency in Heswall where we see a few flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Heswall conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Heswall with the aim of expediting the sale process?

  • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Heswall can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
  • The majority freeholders or managing agents in Heswall levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Heswall.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Heswall leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. If you fail to have the consents in place you should not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in advance.
  • Some Heswall 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 put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should verify this by asking your conveyancers. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the remaining number of years is below 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • I purchased a garden flat in Heswall, conveyancing was carried out in 1998. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Similar flats in Heswall with a long lease are worth £187,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 invoiced every year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2090

    With only 65 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £15,200 and £17,600 as well as costs.

    The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Heswall