Helen (my wife) and I may need to rent out our Stretford 1st floor flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We used a Stretford conveyancing practice in 2001 but they have closed 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 previous Stretford conveyancing lawyer is no longer around you can review your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the premises. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to obtain consent from your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining permission. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably turned down. If your lease prohibits you from letting out the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

I am looking at a two apartments in Stretford both have about forty five years remaining on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Stretford is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the salability of the premises. For most buyers and banks, 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 premises 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 property 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 Stretford 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 They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. 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.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Stretford. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner 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).

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Stretford with the aim of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Stretford can be reduced where you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Stretford state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. Should you dont have the paperwork to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer before hand.

Some Stretford leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 lawyers.

If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over rather than unsettled.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your conveyancers. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

We expect to complete our sale of a £375000 flat in Stretford in six days. The freeholder has quoted £336 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Stretford?

Stretford conveyancing on leasehold flats nine out of ten times results in administration charges levied by management companies :

• Completing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Stretford
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Stretford leasehold property is £350. For Stretford conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to supply the information.

Stretford Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries Prior to buying

Its a good idea to discover as much as you can regarding the managing agents as they will impact your use and enjoyment of the property. As the owner of a leasehold property you are often in the clutches of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to every day issues like the tidiness of the common parts. Enquire of prospective neighbours whether they are happy with their management. Finally, be sure you discover the dates that the service fees are due to the appropriate party and precisely what it includes. Who takes responsibility for maintaining and repairing the building? Make sure you find out if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. For instance it is fairly common in Stretford leases that pets are not permitted in in a block in Stretford. If you love the propertyin Stretford however your dog can’t make the move with you then you have a very hard choice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Stretford