I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Rye. Before diving in I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Rye - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

My wife and I may need to let out our Rye garden flat for a while due to a new job. We used a Rye conveyancing practice in 2001 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Even though your last Rye conveyancing solicitor is not available you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The rule is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to seek permission via your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior permission. Such consent must not not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Sixty One years unexpired on my lease in Rye. I now want to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. 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 an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to find the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent may be useful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Rye.

I am looking at a couple of flats in Rye both have about forty five years remaining on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Rye is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the salability of the premises. For most buyers and mortgage companies, leases with under 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more positive 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 property 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 Rye 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 You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that the agreed 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.

I am employed by a busy estate agency in Rye where we have experienced a few flat sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Rye conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that 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 sit tight for 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 extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Rye - Examples of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

How many years remain on the lease? You should be aware that where the lease has fewer than eighty years it will affect the value of the flat. Check with your bank that they are willing to lend given the lease term. A short lease means that you will probably have to extend the lease at some point and you need to have some idea of how much this would cost. Remember, in most cases you would need to own the residence for 24 months before you are entitled to extend the lease. Make sure you find out if the the lease contains any onerous restrictions in the lease. For instance plenty of leases prohibit pets being permitted in in a block in Rye. If you like the flatin Rye but your cat can’t live with you then you will be presented with a difficult compromise.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Rye