I wish to sublet my leasehold apartment in Stansted. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

A small minority of properties in Stansted do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to see references. Experience dictates 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.

I am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Stansted. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they will have a report out to me tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Stansted should include some of the following:

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
• Will you be prohibited or prevented from having pets in the property?
• Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?
• 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
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames
• What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease?

I am looking at a two apartments in Stansted which have in the region of 50 years left on the lease term. should I be concerned?

A lease is a right to use the property for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease decreases and it becomes more costly to extend the lease. This is why it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

I am employed by a reputable estate agency in Stansted where we see a number of leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Stansted conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is 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 buyer.

Are there common deficiencies that you see in leases for Stansted properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Stansted is not unique. All leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain clauses 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 property
• 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 will have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Lloyds TSB Bank, Leeds Building Society, and Barclays Direct all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to pull out.

Stansted Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries Prior to buying

Who manages the building? It is important to be aware whether fixing the lift or some other major work is pending to be shared by the tenants and will dramatically increase the the service charges or result in a specific payment. How is the lease structured?