My partner and I may need to rent out our North Cornelly 1st floor flat for a while due to a new job. We used a North Cornelly conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time get any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

The lease dictates the relationship between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will say if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The rule is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in North Cornelly do not prevent strict prohibition on subletting – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the flat. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the sublease.

I own a leasehold house in North Cornelly. Conveyancing and Barnsley Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing solicitor in North Cornelly who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

First contact the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a North Cornelly conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am attracted to a couple of apartments in North Cornelly which have approximately forty five years unexpired on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in North Cornelly is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the value of the property. The majority of buyers and lenders, leases with less than eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with North Cornelly conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I work for a busy estate agent office in North Cornelly where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local North Cornelly conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as 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 purchaser.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a North Cornelly conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a North Cornelly conveyancing firm) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you make enquires with two or three firms including non North Cornelly conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?

North Cornelly Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

Many North Cornelly leasehold flats will incur a service charge for maintenance of the building invoiced by the management company. If you buy the apartment you will have to meet this liability, usually in instalments accross the year. This can vary from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large communal grounds. In all probability there will be a ground rent to be met annual, normally this is not a large sum, say approximately £25-£75 but you need to check as sometimes it could be many hundreds of pounds. Its a good idea to discover as much as you can concerning the company managing the block as they will either make your living at the property much easier or problematic. Being a leasehold owner you are often in the clutches of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to daily issues such as the tidiness of the communal areas. Ask other tenants if they are happy with their management. Finally, investigate as to the dates that you are obliged pay the maintenance charge to the managing agents and precisely what you get for your money. Is there a share of the freehold?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in North Cornelly