Helen (my wife) and I may need to let out our Swanage ground floor flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Swanage conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Swanage conveyancing solicitor is no longer around you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the property. The rule is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you need to obtain consent via your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of first obtaining permission. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably turned down. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

I only have Seventy years unexpired on my lease in Swanage. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What are my options?

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 for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can 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 freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent may be useful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Swanage.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Swanage. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, 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 ensure 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).

What are your top tips when it comes to finding a Swanage conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Swanage conveyancing firm) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you talk with two or three firms including non Swanage conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be of use:

• What volume of lease extensions have they completed in Swanage in the last 12 months?

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Swanage with the intention of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Swanage can be reduced where you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers solicitors.
• A minority of Swanage leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.

I acquired a garden flat in Swanage, conveyancing was carried out 1996. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Equivalent flats in Swanage with over 90 years remaining are worth £180,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 per annum. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2082

You have 56 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £25,700 and £29,600 plus costs.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Swanage