I want to rent out my leasehold apartment in Hyde. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

A lease governs relations between the landlord and you the flat owner; in particular, it will set out if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. Most leases in Hyde do not prevent subletting altogether – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the flat. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the tenancy agreement.

I am looking at a couple of apartments in Hyde which have approximately 50 years remaining on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Hyde is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the value of the property. For most buyers and lenders, leases with less than 75 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 property 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 Hyde 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 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 a negotiator for a reputable estate agency in Hyde where we see a few flat sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Hyde conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can initiate 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 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 for a lease extension. 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 buyer.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Hyde with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Hyde can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Hyde leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such works. Should you dont have the paperwork in place do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in advance.
• Some Hyde leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
• If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Arranging a duplicate share certificate can be a time consuming process and frustrates many a Hyde home move. If a reissued share is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

Are there frequently found problems that you encounter in leases for Hyde properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Hyde. All leases are unique and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain provisions are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You could have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Accord Mortgages Ltd, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

I inherited a 1st floor flat in Hyde, conveyancing was carried out in 2002. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Hyde with a long lease are worth £200,000. The ground rent is £50 yearly. The lease expires on 21st October 2079

You have 53 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £29,500 and £34,000 as well as costs.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.