Helen (my wife) and I may need to let out our Maulden ground floor flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Maulden conveyancing firm in 2002 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Maulden conveyancing solicitor is not around you can review your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the premises. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must seek consent via your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior consent. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably turned down. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord for their consent.

Expecting to exchange soon on a leasehold property in Maulden. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they report fully tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Maulden should include some of the following:

• You should receive a copy of the lease

Does the lease prevent you from subletting the property, or working from home

You should be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease

I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required

The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building

Responsibility for repairing the window frames

What options are open to you if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease? For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Maulden please ask your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in Maulden

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Maulden with the aim of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Maulden can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers lawyers.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in Maulden charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Maulden.

If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge 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 prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.

If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share certificate. Obtaining a re-issued share certificate is often a time consuming formality and delays many a Maulden home move. Where a duplicate share certificate is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible.

You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should double-check by asking your lawyers. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is below 80 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage 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.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £325000 garden flat in Maulden next week. The management company has quoted £348 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Maulden?

For most leasehold sales in Maulden conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Answering pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Maulden
• 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 solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Maulden leasehold property is £350. For Maulden 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 provide answers.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Maulden what are the most frequent lease defects?

Leasehold conveyancing in Maulden is not unique. Most leases are individual and drafting errors can result in certain sections are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• 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 as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. HSBC Bank, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and TSB all have very detailed requirements 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, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

Maulden Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries Prior to buying

Best to be warned whether redecorating or some other major work is anticipated that will be shared between the leasehold owners and will dramatically increase the the service fees or result in a one time invoice. If a Maulden lease has no more than 80 years it will affect the value of the flat. Check with your mortgage company that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. A short lease means that you will probably have to extend the lease at some point and it is worth discovering how much this would cost. Remember, in most cases you would need to own the property for a couple of years in order to be legally able to carry out a lease extension. Can you tell me if there are any major works in the near future that will likely add a premium to the service fees?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Maulden