My partner and I may need to let out our Spondon ground floor flat temporarily due to a new job. We instructed a Spondon conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Spondon conveyancing solicitor is not available 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 are obliged to obtain permission via your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior permission. The consent should not be unreasonably withheld. If the lease prohibits you from letting out the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Back In 2007, I bought a leasehold house in Spondon. Conveyancing and The Mortgage Works mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing practitioner in Spondon who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?

First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Spondon conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Spondon where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Spondon conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that 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. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser 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 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.

What are your top tips when it comes to finding a Spondon conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Spondon conveyancing firm) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you talk with several firms including non Spondon conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be useful:

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

What are the common problems that you see in leases for Spondon properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Spondon. Most leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain sections 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
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You may 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. Lloyds TSB Bank, Virgin Money, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to pull out.

Spondon Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

Most Spondon leasehold flats will have a service charge for maintenance of the building invoiced by the landlord. Where you purchase the flat you will have to meet this charge, usually quarterly throughout the year. This could be anything from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large common areas. In all probability there will be a ground rent for you to pay yearly, this is usually not a exorbitant sum, say approximately £50-£100 but you should to check as on occasion it could be many hundreds of pounds. Best to be warned whether window replacement or some other major work is due in the near future that will be shared by the leasehold owners and could well dramatically increase the the service charges or result in a one off invoice. The answer will be useful as a) areas can cause problems in the building as the common areas may start to deteriorate where repairs remain unpaid b) if the leasehold owners have a dispute with the running of the building you will want to have all the details

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Spondon