Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Newbury. Before I set the wheels in motion I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and almost all are in Newbury - 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.

My fiance and I may need to sub-let our Newbury basement flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We used a Newbury conveyancing practice in 2002 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Some leases for properties in Newbury do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord cannot unreasonably withhold but, in such cases, they would need to review references. Experience suggests that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting permission.

I am attracted to a couple of apartments in Newbury which have in the region of fifty years remaining on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Newbury. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease shortens the saleability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more costly to extend the lease. This is why it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

We expect to complete the sale of our £175000 flat in Newbury next week. The managing agents has quoted £312 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Newbury?

Newbury conveyancing on leasehold flats often necessitates the purchaser’s conveyancer sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address these enquiries the majority will be content to do so. They are at liberty charge a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it is in excess of £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality one has no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

Are there common problems that you come across in leases for Newbury properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Newbury is not unique. All leases are individual and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the premises
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You will encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Nationwide Building Society, Chelsea Building Society, and TSB all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

Newbury Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

Best to be warned whether fixing the lift or some other significant cost is anticipated that will be shared between the tenants and will materially impact the level of the service costs or result in a specific invoice. Many Newbury leasehold properties will have a service bill for the upkeep of the block set on behalf of the freeholder. If you buy the property you will have to meet this amount, usually quarterly throughout the year. This may be anything from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large common areas. There will also be a ground rent to be met yearly, this is usually not a large amount, say approximately £50-£100 but you need to enquire as occasionally it can be many hundreds of pounds. You should be aware that where the lease has fewer than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the marketability of the apartment. It is worth checking with your bank that they are willing to go ahead with the loan given the lease term. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease at some point and you need to have some idea of how much this will be. For most Newburylease extensions you would need to own the premises for 24 months before you are entitled to carry out a lease extension.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Newbury