Frequently asked questions relating to Kempston leasehold conveyancing
Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Kempston. Before I set the wheels in motion I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.
If the lease is registered - and almost all are in Kempston - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.
Frank (my husband) and I may need to let out our Kempston ground floor flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Kempston conveyancing practice in 2001 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?
Even though your last Kempston conveyancing solicitor is no longer around you can review your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the property. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you must seek consent from your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior consent. Such consent should not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease prohibits you from letting out the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.
Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 68 years remaining on my lease in Kempston. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What options are available to me?
On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to locate the landlord. On the whole a specialist should be useful to try and locate and to produce a report to be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Kempston.
I've recently bought a leasehold house in Kempston. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?
In a situation 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 work for a busy estate agent office in Kempston where we have witnessed a few flat sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Kempston conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the owner 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 commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having 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 disposal of the property.
Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.
I purchased a split level flat in Kempston, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2011. How much will my lease extension cost? Corresponding flats in Kempston with a long lease are worth £212,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 levied per year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2078
With just 54 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £31,400 and £36,200 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.
The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.
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