Harry (my fiance) and I may need to let out our Newent garden flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Newent conveyancing firm in 2002 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Your lease governs relations between the landlord and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will indicate if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Newent do not contain subletting altogether – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the property. In most cases there is a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a copy of the sublease.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years unexpired on my lease in Newent. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to find the freeholder. In some cases a specialist would be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document to be used as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Newent.

I have just started marketing my garden flat in Newent.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should clear the invoice 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 management companies 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.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Newent from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Newent can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
• The majority landlords or managing agents in Newent levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Newent.

If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 historic as opposed to ongoing.

If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Organising a duplicate share certificate can be a lengthy formality and delays many a Newent home move. Where a new share certificate is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to double-check by asking your solicitors. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the remaining number of years is under 80 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

Completion in due on our sale of a £500000 apartment in Newent next Monday . The managing agents has quoted £384 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Newent?

Newent conveyancing on leasehold flats nine out of ten times involves administration charges raised by managing agents :

• Addressing conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Newent
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Newent leasehold premises is £350. For Newent 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.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Newent - Sample of Questions you should consider before buying

Be sure to investigate if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. For instance it is fairly common in Newent leases that pets are not permitted in in a block in Newent. If you love the apartmentin Newent but your cat is not allowed to move with you then you have a very hard decision. It is important to be aware if fixing the lift or some other significant cost is anticipated to be shared amongst the leaseholders and could well dramatically increase the the maintenance fees or necessitate a specific invoice. Generally speaking the cost for major works tend not to be wrapped into the maintenance charges, albeit that a few managing agents in Newent obliged leasehold owners to pay into a reserve fund created for the specific purpose of building a fund for major repairs or maintenance.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Newent