My wife and I may need to sub-let our Tredegar basement flat temporarily due to a new job. We instructed a Tredegar conveyancing firm in 2002 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Tredegar conveyancing lawyer is not around you can review your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the property. The rule is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you must obtain permission from your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet without first obtaining permission. Such consent should not be unreasonably turned down. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord for their consent.

I have just appointed agents to market my 2 bed apartment in Tredegar.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

It best that you discharge the service charge 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 management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I am employed by a busy estate agency in Tredegar where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Tredegar conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, 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 purchaser.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £ 450000 garden flat in Tredegar in just under a week. The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Tredegar?

Tredegar conveyancing on leasehold apartments more often than not involves the purchaser’s conveyancer sending questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer such questions the majority will be content to assist. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable charge for answering enquiries 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 administration charge invoiced by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in respect of administration charges, without which the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality you have no option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to sell the property.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Tredegar what are the most common lease defects?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Tredegar. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• 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 will encounter 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. National Westminster Bank, Skipton Building Society, and Aldermore all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Tredegar - Examples of Queries before buying

On the whole the outlay for major works tend not to be incorporated into the maintenance charges, although a few managing agents in Tredegar ask leaseholders to pay into a reserve fund created for the specific purpose of establishing a fund for major works. Does the lease contain onerous restrictions?