My husband and I may need to let out our Sedgefield basement flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We used a Sedgefield conveyancing practice in 2001 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Your lease governs the relationship between the freeholder and you the flat owner; specifically, it will set out if subletting is prohibited, 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 Sedgefield do not contain an absolute prevention of subletting – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the property. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the sublease.

I only have 72 years unexpired on my lease in Sedgefield. I need to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. What should I do?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application 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 Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the landlord. In some cases an enquiry agent would be helpful to try and locate and prepare a report to be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Sedgefield.

Looking forward to sign contracts shortly on a basement flat in Sedgefield. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they report fully tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord

I work for a long established estate agent office in Sedgefield where we have witnessed a few flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Sedgefield conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the owner 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 kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer 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 has to be done prior to, 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 purchaser.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Sedgefield conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Sedgefield conveyancing practice) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you talk with two or three firms including non Sedgefield conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be useful:

• Can they put you in touch with client in Sedgefield who can give a testimonial?

Leasehold Conveyancing in Sedgefield - Examples of Queries before buying

It is important to be aware if a new roof is being put on or some other major work is pending that will be shared amongst the tenants and will dramatically increase the the maintenance fees or require a specific payment. Does the lease contain onerous restrictions? Many Sedgefield leasehold apartments will incur a service charge for maintenance of the building invoiced on behalf of the freeholder. If you acquire the flat you will have to pay this liability, usually periodically during the year. This could vary from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built blocks. There will also be a ground rent for you to pay yearly, normally this is not a significant sum, say approximately £25-£75 but you need to check it because occasionally it can be prohibitively expensive.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Sedgefield