My partner and I may need to sub-let our Shefford garden flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Shefford conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time seek any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Shefford conveyancing solicitor is not available you can check your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the property. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to obtain consent via your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet without first obtaining permission. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably turned down. If your lease prohibits you from letting out the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 72 years left on my flat in Shefford. I now wish to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. What options are available to me?

If 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 granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you have done all that could be expected to locate the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent may be useful to carry out a search and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Shefford.

Back In 2009, I bought a leasehold flat in Shefford. Conveyancing and Aldermore mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in Shefford who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Shefford conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. You should note that in any event, 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 attracted to a couple of apartments in Shefford both have about forty five years remaining on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As the lease shortens the saleability of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage companies may be reluctant to lend money on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Shefford. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

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).

Shefford Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries Prior to Purchasing

The majority of Shefford leasehold properties will incur a service charge for maintenance of the building levied on behalf of the landlord. Should you acquire the property you will have to meet this liability, normally in instalments accross the year. This could vary from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built blocks. There will also be a rentcharge to be met yearly, normally this is not a exorbitant figure, say approximately £50-£100 but you need to check it because sometimes it can be surprisingly expensive. Be sure to find out if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. For instance it is fairly common in Shefford leases that pets are not allowed in certain buildings in Shefford. If you like the apartmentin Shefford but your dog is not allowed to live with you then you will be faced hard compromise. On the whole the outlay for major works tend not to be wrapped into the service charges, although some managing agents in Shefford require leaseholders to contribute towards a sinking fund created for the specific intention of building a fund for major works.