Helen (my wife) and I may need to rent out our Saffron Walden 1st floor flat for a while due to a new job. We used a Saffron Walden conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have closed 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?

Even though your last Saffron Walden conveyancing lawyer is not available you can review your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the premises. The accepted inference is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to seek consent from your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of first obtaining consent. Such consent should not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Saffron Walden. Conveyancing and TSB mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing solicitor in Saffron Walden who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Saffron Walden conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am looking at a two flats in Saffron Walden which have in the region of fifty years remaining on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Saffron Walden. The lease is a right to use the property for a period of time. As a lease gets shorter the value of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Saffron Walden. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner 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. It is an essential part 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).

I work for a reputable estate agent office in Saffron Walden where we have experienced a number of flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Saffron Walden conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having 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 prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

Saffron Walden Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries Prior to Purchasing

Be sure to enquire if there are any onerous restrictions in the lease. For instance plenty of leases prohibit pets being allowed in in a block in Saffron Walden. If you like the flatin Saffron Walden however your dog is not allowed to move with you then you will be faced hard decision. You will want to discover as much as possible about the managing agents as they will impact your use and enjoyment of the property. As the owner of a leasehold property you are frequently in the clutches of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to every day matters such as the tidiness of the communal areas. Enquire of other tenants whether they are happy with their management. On a final note, find out the dates that the service fees are due to the managing agents and specifically what you get for your money. The answer will be important as a) areas can result in problems for the block as the common areas may begin to deteriorate if repairs remain unpaid b) if the leaseholders have a dispute with the managing agents you will wish to have all the details

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Saffron Walden