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

A lease dictates relations between the landlord and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will say if subletting is banned, 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. The majority of leases in Ivybridge do not contain subletting altogether – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the property. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a copy of the sublease.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Sixty One years remaining on my lease in Ivybridge. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What are my options?

On the basis that you qualify, 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 enable the lease to be extended by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to find the lessor. In some cases an enquiry agent would be useful to carry out a search 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 investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Ivybridge.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Ivybridge. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

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. However, 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 be sure 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 agent office in Ivybridge where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Ivybridge conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that 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 for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Ivybridge from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Ivybridge can be reduced if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Ivybridge leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Where you fail to have the paperwork in place do not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor in advance.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is unresolved. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.
• If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Obtaining a replacement share certificate can be a time consuming process and slows down many a Ivybridge conveyancing deal. Where a new share certificate is needed, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this sooner rather than later.
• You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable double-check via your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is below 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

Ivybridge Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries before buying

Is the freehold reversion owned collectively by the tenants? How much is the ground rent and service charge? It would be prudent to find out as much as possible concerning the company managing the building as they can either make your living at the property much easier or much more difficult. Being a leasehold owner you will be in the clutches of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to daily matters like the cleanliness of the common parts. Enquire of other tenants what they think of them. Finally, investigate as to the dates that you are obliged pay the maintenance charge to the relevant party and precisely what you get for your money.