I wish to rent out my leasehold flat in Thornton. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Even though your previous Thornton conveyancing lawyer is no longer around you can review your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The rule is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to obtain permission from your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet without first obtaining permission. The consent should not be unreasonably turned down. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of apartments in Thornton which have about fifty years remaining on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Thornton is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the salability of the property. For most buyers and banks, leases with under eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat 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 Thornton conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending 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 am a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Thornton where we have experienced a number of flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Thornton conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner 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 for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is 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 buyer.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Thornton from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Thornton can be avoided if you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Thornton state that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Where you fail to have the consents in place do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor before hand.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £200000 flat in Thornton next week. The management company has quoted £396 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Thornton?

Thornton conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually involves the buyer’s solicitor submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to such questions the majority will be content to do so. They may invoice a reasonable administration fee for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it is in excess of £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration charges, without which the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that you have no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

Thornton Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries Prior to buying

Does the lease contain onerous restrictions? How much is the annual service fee and ground rent? Is the freehold owned collectively by the tenants?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Thornton