I want to rent out my leasehold apartment in Poundbury. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

Your lease governs relations between the landlord and you the flat owner; specifically, it will set out if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. The majority of leases in Poundbury do not prevent an absolute prevention of subletting – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the property. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the sublease.

I have recently realised that I have 72 years remaining on my flat in Poundbury. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What are my options?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have done all that could be expected to find the lessor. For most situations a specialist should be helpful to try and locate and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Poundbury.

I am hoping to exchange soon on a basement flat in Poundbury. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they will have a report out to me tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

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

• You should receive a copy of the lease

I have just started marketing my basement apartment in Poundbury.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you clear the service charge 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Poundbury. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, 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).

Poundbury Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries before Purchasing

You should be aware that where the lease has less than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the marketability of the apartment. It is worth checking with your lender that they are content with residual term of the lease. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely need a lease extension at some point and it is worth discovering how much this will be. Remember, in most cases you would need to own the residence for 24 months in order to be legally able to exercise a lease extension. Make sure you investigate if there are any onerous restrictions in the lease. By way of example it is very common in Poundbury leases that pets are not allowed in certain buildings in Poundbury. If you love the flatin Poundbury yet your dog can’t make the move with you then you will be faced hard choice. This information is useful as a) areas could result in problems for the building as the common areas may begin to deteriorate where repairs are not paid for b) if the leasehold owners have an issue with the running of the building you will wish to have complete disclosure

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Poundbury