I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Syston. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and almost all are in Syston - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

Jane (my partner) and I may need to sub-let our Syston basement flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We used a Syston conveyancing practice in 2002 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

A small minority of properties in Syston do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord cannot unreasonably withhold but, in such cases, they would need to see references. Experience suggests 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 permission.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 62 years unexpired on my lease in Syston. I now want to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What are my options?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to find the lessor. For most situations an enquiry agent may be useful to carry out a search and to produce a report which can be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Syston.

I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Syston where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Syston conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

What makes a Syston lease unacceptable for security purposes?

Leasehold conveyancing in Syston is not unique. All leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You could 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. Santander, Virgin Money, and Aldermore 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 provide security, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

Syston Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing

The prefered form of lease structure is where the freehold reversion is owned by the leaseholders. In this situation the leaseholders benefit from being in charge if their destiny and notwithstanding that a managing agent is often retained if the building is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent employed by the leaseholders. Plenty Syston leasehold flats will have a service bill for the upkeep of the block set on behalf of the landlord. If you acquire the apartment you will have to meet this amount, usually quarterly during the year. This could differ from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal areas. There will also be a ground rent for you to pay annual, normally this is not a significant sum, say approximately £50-£100 but you need to check it because on occasion it could be prohibitively expensive. Best to be warned whether redecorating or some other major work is anticipated to be shared by the leasehold owners and will materially impact the level of the maintenance charges or necessitate a one off payment.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Syston