My fiance and I may need to rent out our Peak District 1st floor flat for a while due to a new job. We instructed a Peak District conveyancing firm in 2002 but they have since shut 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 last Peak District conveyancing solicitor is not available you can review your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The rule is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to seek consent via your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet in the absence of first obtaining permission. The consent should not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Expecting to exchange soon on a leasehold property in Peak District. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they report fully within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Peak District should include some of the following:

• You should receive a copy of the lease

I work for a long established estate agent office in Peak District where we have witnessed a few flat sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Peak District conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

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.

We expect to complete the sale of our £425000 apartment in Peak District next Friday . The management company has quoted £312 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Peak District?

Peak District conveyancing on leasehold flats normally requires the purchaser’s lawyer submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to such questions the majority will be willing to assist. They may invoice a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it is in excess of £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the invoice is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that one has little option but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Peak District what are the most common lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in Peak District is not unique. All leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the building
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Barclays , The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Britannia all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

Peak District Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries Prior to Purchasing

Does the lease have more than 90 years left? How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? It would be prudent to find out as much as possible concerning the managing agents as they will either make living at the property much simpler or much more difficult. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you will be in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to day to day issues such as the cleanliness of the common parts. Ask prospective neighbours if they are happy with their management. On a final note, be sure you discover the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the managing agents and specifically how they are spending that money.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Peak District