I am intending to sublet my leasehold apartment in Seaford. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?

A lease dictates the relationship between the landlord and you the leaseholder; 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 specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Seaford do not prevent strict prohibition on subletting – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the property. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the sublease.

Expecting to complete next month on a basement flat in Seaford. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they are sending me a report next week. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Seaford should include some of the following:

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
• Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• Repair and maintenance of the flat
• The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?

I’m about to sell my garden apartment in Seaford.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I own a leasehold house in Seaford. Conveyancing and Yorkshire Building Society mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing practitioner in Seaford who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

First make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Seaford conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

What makes a Seaford lease defective?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Seaford. All leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the building
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You will have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. HSBC Bank, Coventry Building Society, and Alliance & Leicester all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to pull out.

Seaford Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries Prior to buying

How much is the ground rent and service charge? Plenty Seaford leasehold flats will incur a service charge for the upkeep of the block levied on behalf of the management company. Should you acquire the property you will have to meet this amount, normally quarterly throughout the year. This can vary from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built buildings. There will also be a ground rent to be met yearly, ordinarily this is not a exorbitant amount, say about £25-£75 but you need to enquire as on occasion it could be many hundreds of pounds.