Frank (my husband) and I may need to rent out our Highcliffe ground floor flat for a while due to a new job. We instructed a Highcliffe conveyancing practice in 2002 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your last Highcliffe conveyancing lawyer is not around you can review your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the premises. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to obtain permission via your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. This means that you cannot sublet without prior consent. The consent should not be unreasonably turned down. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I have recently realised that I have 68 years unexpired on my lease in Highcliffe. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What are my options?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply 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 have made all reasonable attempts to track down the lessor. In some cases a specialist would be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Highcliffe.

Looking forward to complete next month on a basement flat in Highcliffe. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they report fully within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Highcliffe should include some of the following:

• The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Highcliffe both have about 50 years remaining on the lease term. should I be concerned?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Highcliffe is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the marketability of the property. The majority of purchasers and lenders, leases with under eighty years become less and less attractive. 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 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 Highcliffe 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 am employed by a reputable estate agency in Highcliffe where we have experienced a few flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Highcliffe conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that 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. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, 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 buyer.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Highcliffe - Sample of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

This question is useful as a) areas may result in problems in the building as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate where services are not paid for b) if the leasehold owners have an issue with the running of the building you will wish to know about it Plenty Highcliffe leasehold flats will have a service charge for maintenance of the block levied by the landlord. Where you purchase the flat you will have to meet this charge, usually quarterly throughout the year. This may differ from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built blocks. There will also be a ground rent for you to pay annual, ordinarily this is not a exorbitant sum, say about £50-£100 but you need to check as occasionally it can be surprisingly expensive. Does the lease have in excess of 90 years left?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Highcliffe