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

A lease dictates relations between the landlord and you the flat owner; specifically, it will indicate if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The rule is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Highcliffe do not prevent subletting altogether – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the flat. In most cases there is a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a copy of the tenancy agreement.

Back In 2006, I bought a leasehold house in Highcliffe. Conveyancing and Chelsea Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in Highcliffe who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Highcliffe conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Highcliffe. Do I have any liability for 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. 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 am employed by a long established estate agency in Highcliffe where we see a number of flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Highcliffe conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension formalities 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 start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to wait 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 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.

Are there common deficiencies that you come across in leases for Highcliffe properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Highcliffe is not unique. All leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain sections are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the property
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Yorkshire Building Society, The Mortgage Works, and Aldermore all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to pull out.

Highcliffe Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries before Purchasing

The best form of lease structure is if the freehold reversion is owned by the leaseholders. In this scenario the tenants have control and notwithstanding that a managing agent is frequently retained if it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants. The majority of Highcliffe leasehold properties will incur a service charge for the upkeep of the building levied by the freeholder. If you purchase the flat you will have to meet this liability, normally periodically during the year. This can be anything from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built buildings. In all probability there will be a ground rent to be met yearly, ordinarily this is not a significant figure, say approximately £25-£75 but you need to enquire it because sometimes it could be surprisingly expensive.