Frank (my husband) and I may need to sub-let our Liss ground floor flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Liss conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your last Liss conveyancing lawyer is not available you can review your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the property. The rule is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you must obtain consent from your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet without prior consent. Such consent should not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I've found a house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have since discovered that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Liss. Conveyancing solicitors have are soon to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Liss ?

Most houses in Liss are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Liss in which case you should be looking for a Liss conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the landlord’spermission to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your conveyancer should report to you on the legal implications.

I work for a reputable estate agency in Liss where we see a few flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Liss conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner 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 at the same time as 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.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £300000 flat in Liss next Thursday . The managing agents has quoted £408 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Liss?

For most leasehold sales in Liss conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Addressing pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Liss
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Liss leasehold property is £350. For Liss conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to provide the information.

What makes a Liss lease problematic?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Liss. All leases are individual and drafting errors can result in certain sections are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building
• A duty to insure the building
• 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 can cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Lloyds TSB Bank, Virgin Money, and Barclays Direct 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 grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to pull out.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Liss - Examples of Queries before Purchasing

Is there a share of the freehold? Are any of leasehold owners in arrears of their service charge payments? It is important to be aware whether window replacement or some other major work is coming up that will be shared by the leasehold owners and could well dramatically increase the the maintenance costs or result in a one off payment.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Liss