I would like to sublet my leasehold apartment in St Asaph. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

Some leases for properties in St Asaph do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably withhold but, in such cases, they would need to review references. Experience suggests that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting consent.

Planning to exchange soon on a garden flat in St Asaph. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they report fully next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• How long the lease is You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and informed of the importance of the 80 year mark

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of apartments in St Asaph both have about fifty years remaining on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease shortens the marketability of the lease reduces and it becomes more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage companies may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

I am employed by a reputable estate agency in St Asaph where we have experienced a number of flat sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local St Asaph conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 buyer.

What are the frequently found problems that you come across in leases for St Asaph properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in St Asaph. All leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain sections are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building
• Insurance obligations
• 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

A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. HSBC Bank, Leeds Building Society, and Clydesdale all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

Leasehold Conveyancing in St Asaph - Sample of Questions you should consider before buying

Is there a share of the freehold? Please note that where the lease has fewer than eighty years it will affect the marketability of the apartment. Check with your bank that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. A short lease means that you will probably have to extend the lease at some point and you need to have some idea of what this would cost. For most St Asaphlease extensions you will be required to have been the owner of the residence for a couple of years in order to be legally able to extend the lease. Many St Asaph leasehold properties will have a service charge for maintenance of the building set by the freeholder. Where you buy the property you will have to meet this amount, usually periodically throughout the year. This could vary from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built blocks. In all probability there will be a ground rent to be met yearly, this is usually not a large sum, say about £25-£75 but you need to enquire it because sometimes it can be prohibitively expensive.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in St Asaph