My partner and I may need to let out our Newcastle under Lyme basement flat temporarily due to a new job. We instructed a Newcastle under Lyme conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

A small minority of properties in Newcastle under Lyme do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably withhold but, in such cases, they would need to see 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 have recently realised that I have Seventy years left on my flat in Newcastle under Lyme. I now want to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What options are available to me?

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 mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to locate the landlord. In some cases a specialist would be useful to try and locate and prepare an expert document to be used as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Newcastle under Lyme.

Looking forward to exchange soon on a garden flat in Newcastle under Lyme. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they will have a report out to me next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• You should receive a copy of the lease

Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?

Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future

Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?

You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions

Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?

What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Newcastle under Lyme please ask your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Newcastle under Lyme

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Newcastle under Lyme from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Newcastle under Lyme can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• The majority landlords or Management Companies in Newcastle under Lyme charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Newcastle under Lyme.

If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Newcastle under Lyme state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. If you fail to have the paperwork in place you should not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor in advance.

If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.

You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable double-check via your solicitors. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is less than 75 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

We expect to complete our sale of a £175000 maisonette in Newcastle under Lyme next week. The management company has quoted £312 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Newcastle under Lyme?

For most leasehold sales in Newcastle under Lyme conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Answering pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Newcastle under Lyme
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Newcastle under Lyme leasehold premises is £350. For Newcastle under Lyme 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 required to provide the information.

Newcastle under Lyme Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should consider before buying

Does the lease have more than 90 years unexpired? Who takes charge for maintaining and repairing the building? What restrictions exist in the Newcastle under Lyme Lease?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Newcastle under Lyme