My husband and I may need to sub-let our Rhiwbina ground floor flat temporarily due to a new job. We used a Rhiwbina conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

A lease dictates relations between the landlord and you the flat owner; specifically, it will indicate if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. Most leases in Rhiwbina do not prevent subletting altogether – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the flat. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a copy of the tenancy agreement.

I have recently realised that I have Seventy years left on my lease in Rhiwbina. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, 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 mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to track down the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent should be useful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Rhiwbina.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to meet my requirements, at a reasonable price which is making it all the more appealing. I have since been informed that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns purchasing a leasehold house in Rhiwbina. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Rhiwbina ?

The majority of houses in Rhiwbina are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Rhiwbina in which case you should be shopping around for a Rhiwbina conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the freeholder’sconsent to conduct changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your lawyer should advise you fully on all the issues.

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agency in Rhiwbina where we have witnessed a few flat sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Rhiwbina conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is 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 purchaser.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Rhiwbina with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Rhiwbina can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• Many landlords or Management Companies in Rhiwbina levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Rhiwbina.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Rhiwbina leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord consenting to such changes. If you fail to have the approvals in place do not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor before hand.
• If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Organising a replacement share certificate is often a time consuming process and delays many a Rhiwbina home move. If a reissued share certificate is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

Rhiwbina Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries before buying

Are any of leasehold owners in arrears of their service charge liability? Most Rhiwbina leasehold apartments will be liable to pay a service charge for the upkeep of the block levied on behalf of the landlord. Where you buy the flat you will have to pay this charge, normally in instalments accross the year. This may vary from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built blocks. In all likelihood there will be a rentcharge to be met annual, this is usually not a large amount, say around £50-£100 but you need to check it because on occasion it can be many hundreds of pounds.