My fiance and I may need to sub-let our Llanrwst ground floor flat for a while due to a new job. We used a Llanrwst conveyancing practice in 2001 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Even though your last Llanrwst conveyancing lawyer is not around you can review your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the lease is silent, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must obtain consent from your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of first obtaining permission. The consent must not not be unreasonably turned down. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

I have recently realised that I have Sixty One years unexpired on my lease in Llanrwst. I am keen to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What are my options?

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 done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. On the whole a specialist should be useful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document which can be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Llanrwst.

I am attracted to a couple of apartments in Llanrwst which have about forty five years unexpired on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease shortens the saleability of the lease reduces and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agency in Llanrwst where we have experienced a few leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Llanrwst conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

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. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is 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 purchaser.

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Llanrwst conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

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

• How many lease extensions has the firm conducted in Llanrwst in the last 12 months?

Llanrwst Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries Prior to buying

The answer will be important as a) areas may cause problems in the building as the common areas may start to deteriorate where maintenance are not paid for b) if the tenants have an issue with the managing agents you will want to have all the details It would be prudent to enquire if there are any onerous restrictions in the lease. For example some leases prohibit pets being permitted in certain buildings in Llanrwst. If you love the flatin Llanrwst but your cat can’t live with you then you have a very hard choice. Best to be warned whether redecorating or some other significant cost is due shortly to be shared between the leasehold owners and will dramatically impact the level of the maintenance charges or require a one time payment.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Llanrwst