My wife and I may need to let out our Horncastle 1st floor flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Horncastle conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

A lease dictates relations between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will indicate 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 Horncastle do not prevent subletting altogether – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the flat. In most cases there is a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a copy of the sublease.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my garden flat in Horncastle.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a half-yearly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge the invoice 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 management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I today plan to offer on a house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have just discovered that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in Horncastle. Conveyancing solicitors have are soon to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Horncastle ?

Most houses in Horncastle are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Horncastle so you should seriously consider looking for a Horncastle conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the freeholder’spermission to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your solicitor will advise you fully on all the issues.

Back In 2001, I bought a leasehold house in Horncastle. Conveyancing and Leeds Building Society mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing solicitor in Horncastle who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a Horncastle conveyancing solicitor 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 legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Horncastle where we have witnessed a number of flat sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Horncastle conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension process 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. 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 prior to, or at the same time as 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.

Horncastle Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should consider before buying

It is important to be aware whether fixing the lift or some other major work is coming up to be shared between the leaseholders and will dramatically increase the the maintenance costs or necessitate a one off invoice. The answer will be helpful as a) areas could cause problems in the block as the common areas may start to deteriorate where services are not paid for b) if the tenants have an issue with the managing agents you will want to have all the details Does the lease have onerous restrictions?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Horncastle