Frank (my husband) and I may need to rent out our Penistone basement flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Penistone conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have closed 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?

Notwithstanding that your previous Penistone conveyancing lawyer is not around you can review your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the lease is silent, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must obtain permission from your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining consent. The consent should not be unreasonably turned down. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I today plan to offer on a house that seems to meet my requirements, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently found out that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Penistone. Conveyancing solicitors have are soon to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Penistone are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Penistone so you should seriously consider looking for a Penistone conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the landlord’sconsent to conduct alterations. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your solicitor should appraise you on the various issues.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Penistone. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Penistone conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Penistone conveyancing practice) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Penistone conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be useful:

• How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?

What makes a Penistone lease defective?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Penistone. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. HSBC Bank, Leeds Building Society, and Alliance & Leicester all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Penistone - Sample of Queries Prior to Purchasing

Does the lease have more than 80 years unexpired? Be sure to discover if there are any onerous restrictions in the lease. By way of example it is very common in Penistone leases that pets are not permitted in certain buildings in Penistone. If you love the apartmentin Penistone yet your cat can’t live with you then you will be presented with a hard decision. The best form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this scenario the leaseholders benefit from being in charge if their destiny and even though a managing agent is frequently retained if it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent employed by the leaseholders.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Penistone