I want to sublet my leasehold flat in Histon. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?

A lease dictates the relationship between the freeholder and you the flat owner; in particular, it will say if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Histon do not prevent an absolute prevention of subletting – 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 duplicate of the sublease.

There are only Sixty One years left on my flat in Histon. I am keen to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What are my options?

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 magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the lessor. On the whole a specialist would be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare a report to be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Histon.

You should [be sent a copy of the lease|receive a copy of the lease]

Planning to complete next month on a leasehold property in Histon. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they report fully next week. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Histon should include some of the following:

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
• The total extent of the property. This will be the flat itself but could also incorporate a roof space or cellar if appropriate.
• Does the lease prevent you from subletting the property, or working from home
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?
• The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building

For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Histon please ask your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Histon

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Histon with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Histon can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers solicitors.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Histon leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord approving such alterations. If you dont have the consents in place do not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor before hand.
• Some Histon leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the annual 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 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 buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.
• If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Arranging a duplicate share certificate can be a lengthy process and frustrates many a Histon conveyancing deal. If a duplicate share certificate is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £ 475000 garden flat in Histon in just under a week. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Histon?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Histon conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Answering conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Histon
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Histon leasehold property is £350. For Histon 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.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Histon - Examples of Queries Prior to Purchasing

Where a Histon lease has no more than 80 years it will affect the value of the apartment. Check with your bank that they are happy with the length of the lease. A short lease means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of how much this would cost. For most Histonlease extensions you will need to own the residence for a couple of years before you are legally able to extend the lease. Its a good idea to discover as much as possible about the company managing the block as they will either make living at the property much simpler or problematic. Being a leasehold owner you are often at the mercy of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to practical matters like the upkeep of the communal areas. Enquire of other tenants what they think of them. Finally, find out the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the relevant party and specifically how they are spending the funds.