My partner and I may need to sub-let our Shepton Mallet garden flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Shepton Mallet conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your last Shepton Mallet conveyancing lawyer is not available you can review your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The rule is that if the lease is silent, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must seek permission from your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining permission. The 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 if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Back In 2004, I bought a leasehold house in Shepton Mallet. Conveyancing and The Royal Bank of Scotland mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing practitioner in Shepton Mallet who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

First contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Shepton Mallet conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a Shepton Mallet conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Shepton Mallet conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you talk with two or three firms including non Shepton Mallet conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be helpful:

• What volume of lease extensions have they completed in Shepton Mallet in the last year?

What are the legal fees for lease extension work?

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Shepton Mallet from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Shepton Mallet can be reduced where you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers representatives.
• The majority freeholders or managing agents in Shepton Mallet levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Shepton Mallet.

A minority of Shepton Mallet leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.

If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Obtaining a replacement share certificate is often a lengthy process and slows down many a Shepton Mallet home move. If a new share is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this as soon as possible.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to verify this by asking your lawyers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £225000 flat in Shepton Mallet next week. The managing agents has quoted £336 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Shepton Mallet?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Shepton Mallet conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Completing pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Shepton Mallet
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Shepton Mallet leasehold premises is £350. For Shepton Mallet conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to provide answers.

Shepton Mallet Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries before Purchasing

How is the lease structured? How much is the service charge and ground rent on the apartment? The answer will be useful as a) areas can cause problems for the building as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate where repairs are not paid for b) if the leaseholders have an issue with the managing agents you will want to have all the details

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Shepton Mallet