Jane (my partner) and I may need to let out our Royal Tunbridge Wells ground floor flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We used a Royal Tunbridge Wells conveyancing practice in 2002 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Even though your last Royal Tunbridge Wells conveyancing lawyer is not around you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to seek consent via your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior permission. The consent should not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. 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 have just started marketing my ground floor flat in Royal Tunbridge Wells.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

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 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 own a leasehold house in Royal Tunbridge Wells. Conveyancing and Leeds Building Society mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Royal Tunbridge Wells who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

First contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Royal Tunbridge Wells conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am looking at a two flats in Royal Tunbridge Wells which have in the region of 50 years unexpired on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Royal Tunbridge Wells is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the salability of the premises. For most purchasers and mortgage companies, leases with less than 75 years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Royal Tunbridge Wells conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Royal Tunbridge Wells with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Royal Tunbridge Wells can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• The majority freeholders or managing agents in Royal Tunbridge Wells charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Royal Tunbridge Wells.

I inherited a 1st floor flat in Royal Tunbridge Wells, conveyancing formalities finalised 8 years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in Royal Tunbridge Wells with over 90 years remaining are worth £166,000. The ground rent is £55 levied per year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2091

With just 66 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £11,400 and £13,200 plus costs.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Royal Tunbridge Wells