Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Leeds. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is registered - and most are in Leeds - 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 rent out our Leeds ground floor flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Leeds conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your last Leeds conveyancing lawyer is not available you can review your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the property. The accepted inference is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must obtain permission via your landlord or some other party before subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining consent. Such consent should not be unreasonably turned down. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

There are only 62 years unexpired on my lease in Leeds. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. 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 an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to locate the landlord. In some cases a specialist may be helpful to try and locate and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Leeds.

I am looking at a two maisonettes in Leeds which have about forty five years unexpired on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Leeds is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the marketability of the premises. The majority of purchasers and banks, leases with less than 75 years become less and less marketable. 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 premises 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 Leeds 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 any new 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.

What makes a Leeds lease unacceptable for security purposes?

Leasehold conveyancing in Leeds is not unique. All leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations 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

A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. HSBC Bank, The Mortgage Works, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

Leeds Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries Prior to buying

Who are the managing agents? Generally speaking the cost for major works are not incorporated into the service charges, albeit that a few managing agents in Leeds ask leaseholders to pay into a reserve fund created for the specific intention of building a fund for larger works. The answer will be helpful as a) areas could result in problems for the building as the common areas may start to deteriorate where maintenance are not paid for b) if the leasehold owners have a dispute with the running of the building you will want to have full disclosure

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Leeds