Harry (my fiance) and I may need to rent out our Hexham basement flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Hexham conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Some leases for properties in Hexham do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably withhold but, in such cases, they would need to see references. Experience suggests that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting permission.

I only have 72 years unexpired on my lease in Hexham. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What options are available to me?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to find the landlord. For most situations a specialist would be useful to try and locate and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Hexham.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Hexham. Conveyancing and Santander mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing solicitor in Hexham who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Hexham conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am attracted to a two apartments in Hexham both have about forty five years unexpired on the lease term. should I be concerned?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Hexham is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the marketability of the premises. For most purchasers and banks, leases with less than 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 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 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 Hexham 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 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.

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

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Hexham can be bypassed 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 buyers representatives.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Hexham state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such changes. Should you dont have the paperwork in place do not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor first.

I invested in buying a split level flat in Hexham, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Comparable flats in Hexham with a long lease are worth £226,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 per annum. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2092

You have 67 years left to run the likely cost is going to span between £11,400 and £13,200 as well as 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 in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

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Lease Extensions in Hexham