My wife and I may need to let out our Poundbury garden flat temporarily due to a new job. We used a Poundbury conveyancing practice in 2001 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

A lease dictates the relationship between the landlord and you the flat owner; 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 specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Poundbury do not contain an absolute prevention of 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 duplicate of the sublease.

I've found a house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a great price which is making it more attractive. 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 Poundbury. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Poundbury are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Poundbury so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Poundbury conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions such as obtaining the landlord’spermission to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your solicitor should advise you fully on all the issues.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Poundbury. Conveyancing and Barclays mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Poundbury who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Poundbury conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Poundbury where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Poundbury conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can commence 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 proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. 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 sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 buyer.

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £225000 flat in Poundbury on Friday in a week. The freeholder has quoted £408 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Poundbury?

Poundbury conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually necessitates administration charges levied by landlords agents :

• Answering pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Poundbury
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Poundbury leasehold property is £350. For Poundbury 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 required to supply the information.

Poundbury Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries before buying

How long is the Lease? Are there any major works anticipated that will add a premium to the service charges? What restrictions are contained in the Poundbury Lease?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Poundbury