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Stone leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

Jane (my partner) and I may need to rent out our Stone basement flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Stone conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Even though your last Stone conveyancing lawyer is not around you can review your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the property. The rule is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to seek permission via your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of first obtaining consent. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease prohibits you from letting out the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

There are only Sixty One years remaining on my flat in Stone. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What should I do?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have done all that could be expected to find the lessor. In some cases a specialist would be useful to conduct investigations and to produce a report to be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Stone.

I am looking at a couple of flats in Stone which have approximately 50 years left on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Stone is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the value of the property. For most buyers and mortgage companies, leases with under eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Stone conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Stone with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Stone can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
  • Many landlords or Management Companies in Stone charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Stone.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Stone leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord approving such works. Should you dont have the paperwork in place do not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer before hand.
  • Some Stone leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
  • If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.

    • What makes a Stone lease unmortgageable?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Stone. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are not included. 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 premises
    • A duty to insure the building
    • Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
    • Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

    You may encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. National Westminster Bank, Virgin Money, and Aldermore all have very detailed 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.

    Stone Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should ask before buying

      Who takes responsibility for maintaining and repairing the block? Does the lease have onerous restrictions? How long is the Lease?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Stone