I want to sublet my leasehold apartment in Thatcham. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Notwithstanding that your last Thatcham conveyancing solicitor is not available you can check your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the property. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must obtain consent from your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of first obtaining permission. Such consent should not be unreasonably withheld. If your lease prohibits you from letting out the property you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I’m about to sell my ground floor apartment in Thatcham.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a half-yearly service charge demand – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should 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 today plan to offer on a house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have just found out that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Thatcham. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been appointed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Thatcham are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Thatcham in which case you should be looking for a Thatcham conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example obtaining the freeholder’sconsent to conduct alterations. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your conveyancer will appraise you on the various issues.

I am employed by a long established estate agency in Thatcham where we see a number of flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Thatcham conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having 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 sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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 purchaser.

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £450000 maisonette in Thatcham on Friday in a week. The landlords agents has quoted £372 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Thatcham?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Thatcham conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Addressing conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Thatcham
• 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 conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Thatcham leasehold property is £350. For Thatcham 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 provide answers.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Thatcham - Sample of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge liability? What is the maintenance charge and ground rent on the apartment? Generally speaking the cost for major works are not incorporated into the service charges, although there some managing agents in Thatcham ask tenants to contribute towards a sinking fund created for the specific purpose of building a fund for larger repairs or maintenance.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Thatcham