I want to rent out my leasehold flat in Bellingham. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Your lease dictates the relationship between the landlord and you the flat owner; specifically, it will say if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Bellingham do not prevent an absolute prevention of subletting – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the flat. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Fifty years unexpired on my flat in Bellingham. I now want to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What should I do?

If you qualify, 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 enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you have used your best endeavours to track down the landlord. In some cases a specialist should be helpful to try and locate and to produce an expert document to be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Bellingham.

I have just started marketing my ground floor flat in Bellingham.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a half-yearly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge the service charge as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I own a leasehold house in Bellingham. Conveyancing and Lloyds TSB Bank mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing solicitor in Bellingham who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

First contact the Land Registry to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Bellingham conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in Bellingham where we see a number of leasehold sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Bellingham conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can instigate 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. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with 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.

I inherited a basement flat in Bellingham. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the sum due for a lease extension?

Most certainly. We are happy to put you in touch with a Bellingham conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Bellingham residence is 75 Woolstone Road in February 2012. the decision of the Tribunal was that the appropriate amount to be paid to purchase the freehold was the sum of £17,711 . This case related to 2 flats. The unexpired term was 68.28 and 158.

Bellingham Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should consider before buying

How many years are left on the lease? Be sure to investigate if there are any onerous restrictions in the lease. By way of example it is fairly common in Bellingham leases that pets are not allowed in certain buildings in Bellingham. If you love the propertyin Bellingham yet your dog is not allowed to live with you then you have a very difficult determination.