I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Sudbury. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Sudbury - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

I want to let out my leasehold apartment in Sudbury. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?

The lease governs relations between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will set out if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Sudbury do not prevent subletting altogether – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the flat. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

I have just started marketing my garden apartment in Sudbury.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is clear 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 until 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Sudbury. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

In a situation 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. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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).

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Sudbury where we see a number of flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Sudbury conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that 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 buyer need not have 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 simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

I inherited a a ground floor purpose built flat in Sudbury. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the amount due for a lease extension?

if there is a absentee landlord or if 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 calculate the sum to be paid.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Sudbury flat is Ground Floor Flat 79 London Road in September 2012. the Tribunal held that the premium payable for the lease extension should be £7,636 This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 74 years.

Sudbury Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

The answer will be important as a) areas could cause problems in the building as the common areas may begin to deteriorate if maintenance remain unpaid b) if the tenants have a dispute with the managing agents you will need to know about it Most Sudbury leasehold flats will be liable to pay a service charge for maintenance of the block invoiced by the landlord. Where you acquire the apartment you will have to pay this amount, usually in instalments during the year. This could differ from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built blocks. There will also be a rentcharge for you to pay annual, normally this is not a exorbitant amount, say about £50-£100 but you should to enquire it because occasionally it could be prohibitively expensive.