My wife and I may need to sub-let our St Helier 1st floor flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We used a St Helier conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Even though your last St Helier conveyancing lawyer is no longer available you can review your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the property. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you must obtain permission from your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet without prior permission. Such consent must not 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 great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have since been informed that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a leasehold house in St Helier. Conveyancing solicitors have are soon to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in St Helier are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in St Helier in which case you should be shopping around for a St Helier conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example obtaining the freeholder’spermission to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your conveyancer should advise you fully on all the issues.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in St Helier. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in St Helier with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in St Helier can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers representatives.
• Many freeholders or Management Companies in St Helier levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in St Helier.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? St Helier leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. Should you dont have the approvals in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer before hand.
• If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should double-check via your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without any joy. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal decide on such matters? Can you recommend a St Helier conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?

Where there is a missing freeholder or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the LVT to arrive at the premium.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a St Helier property is Buchanan Court 39 Vernon Road in April 2010. the Tribunal assessed that the premium payable for the freehold of the block should be £44,000. This case related to 2 flats. The unexpired lease term was 66.67 years.

What are the frequently found problems that you encounter in leases for St Helier properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in St Helier. All leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building
• Insurance obligations
• 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

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. Nationwide Building Society, Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and Barclays Direct all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

Leasehold Conveyancing in St Helier - Examples of Queries before Purchasing

On the whole the outlay for major works tend not to be wrapped into the maintenance charges, albeit that a few managing agents in St Helier ask leaseholders to contribute towards a reserve fund created for the specific intention of building a fund for major works.