My fiance and I may need to sub-let our Silverton garden flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We used a Silverton conveyancing practice in 2001 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Silverton conveyancing solicitor is no longer around you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the property. The accepted inference is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to seek consent from your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet without prior permission. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably withheld. If the lease prohibits you from letting out the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

I am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in Silverton. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they will have a report out to me tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Silverton should include some of the following:

• Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?
• Whether the lease restricts you from subletting the property, or working from home
• You must be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
• Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
• 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.
• The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building

I have just appointed agents to market my basement apartment in Silverton.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

It best that you clear the service charge 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 managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Silverton. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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 am a negotiator for a reputable estate agency in Silverton where we see a few leasehold sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Silverton conveyancing firms. Can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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 need not have 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 before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

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 purchaser.

Silverton Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

How many years are left on the lease? Most Silverton leasehold properties will incur a service charge for maintenance of the building invoiced on behalf of the management company. If you buy the flat you will have to pay this charge, normally quarterly during the year. This may differ from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large communal areas. There will also be a ground rent for you to pay yearly, this is usually not a significant amount, say approximately £50-£100 but you should to check it because on occasion it could be prohibitively expensive.