My fiance and I may need to rent out our Llanarth basement flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We used a Llanarth conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Llanarth conveyancing lawyer is not available you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the premises. The accepted inference is that if the lease is silent, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to seek consent via your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. This means that you cannot sublet without prior consent. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably withheld. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord for their consent.

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in Llanarth where we have experienced a few flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Llanarth conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

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. The benefit of this is that the buyer 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 at the same time as completion of the sale.

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.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Llanarth conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Llanarth conveyancing firm) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you talk with two or three firms including non Llanarth conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• What volume of lease extensions has the firm carried out in Llanarth in the last year?

What are the costs for lease extension work?

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £475000 maisonette in Llanarth next Tuesday . The freeholder has quoted £324 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Llanarth?

Llanarth conveyancing on leasehold flats normally involves administration charges invoiced by landlords agents :

• Addressing conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Llanarth
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• 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 Llanarth leasehold premises is £350. For Llanarth 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 supply answers.

What are the common deficiencies that you see in leases for Llanarth properties?

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

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the premises
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You may 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. Birmingham Midshires, Leeds Building Society, and Britannia 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, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Llanarth - Sample of Queries before Purchasing

It would be prudent to investigate if there are any onerous prohibitions in the lease. For example plenty of leases prohibit pets being allowed in certain buildings in Llanarth. If you love the propertyin Llanarth yet your dog is not allowed to live with you then you will be presented with a difficult determination. It is important to be aware whether changing the roof or some other major work is pending to be shared between the tenants and will dramatically increase the the service costs or require a one off invoice. Where a Llanarth lease has fewer than 80 years it will impact the value of the property. It is worth checking with your bank that they are happy with residual term of the lease. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and it is worth discovering what this will be. Remember, in most cases you would need to own the residence for two years in order to be entitled to extend the lease.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Llanarth