My fiance and I may need to let out our Stretford 1st floor flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We used a Stretford conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

A lease dictates relations between the freeholder and you the flat owner; in particular, it will indicate if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Stretford do not prevent strict prohibition on subletting – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the property. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a copy of the tenancy agreement.

I only have Seventy years left on my lease in Stretford. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to track down the lessor. In some cases a specialist would be useful to try and locate and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Stretford.

I’m about to sell my basement apartment in Stretford.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a half-yearly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

It best that you pay the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to meet my requirements, at a reasonable price which is making it more attractive. I have since discovered that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a leasehold house in Stretford. Conveyancing advisers have not yet been instructed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Stretford ?

Most houses in Stretford are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Stretford in which case you should be shopping around for a Stretford conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example obtaining the landlord’spermission to conduct changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your solicitor should report to you on the legal implications.

What makes a Stretford lease defective?

Leasehold conveyancing in Stretford is not unique. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the premises
• 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

You could have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Skipton Building Society, and TSB 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 withdraw.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Stretford - Examples of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

Is the freehold owned collectively by the leaseholders? Who takes responsibility for maintaining and repairing the building? Most Stretford leasehold properties will have a service charge for the upkeep of the building levied on behalf of the freeholder. If you acquire the apartment you will have to pay this liability, normally quarterly accross the year. This may be anything from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built buildings. In all probability there will be a rentcharge to be met yearly, this is usually not a large sum, say about £25-£75 but you need to enquire it because sometimes it could be prohibitively expensive.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Stretford