Helen (my wife) and I may need to let out our Retford basement flat for a while due to a new job. We used a Retford conveyancing firm in 2002 but they have closed 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?

The lease dictates the relationship between the landlord and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will set out if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Retford do not contain strict prohibition on subletting – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the flat. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the sublease.

Expecting to exchange soon on a leasehold property in Retford. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they report fully within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Retford should include some of the following:

• How long the lease is You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years

I’m about to sell my ground floor flat in Retford.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

It best that you pay the invoice 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 managing agents 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 flat in Retford. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

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. 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 be sure 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).

What are your top tips when it comes to appointing a Retford conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Retford conveyancing practice) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you speak with several firms including non Retford conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• What volume of lease extensions have they conducted in Retford in the last year?

Leasehold Conveyancing in Retford - A selection of Queries before Purchasing

It would be prudent to discover if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. For example some leases prohibit pets being allowed in certain buildings in Retford. If you like the apartmentin Retford yet your cat is not allowed to make the move with you then you will be presented with a difficult determination. Plenty Retford leasehold flats will have a service charge for maintenance of the block levied by the management company. Should you buy the flat you will have to pay this amount, usually in instalments during the year. This may be anything from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. In all probability there will be a rentcharge to be met yearly, ordinarily this is not a significant amount, say around £25-£75 but you should to check as on occasion it can be many hundreds of pounds. On the whole the cost for major works are not built into the maintenance charges, albeit that there some managing agents in Retford ask tenants to pay into a sinking fund and this is used to offset against larger works.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Retford