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

A lease dictates the relationship between the landlord and you the flat owner; in particular, it will say if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Trimdon do not prevent an absolute prevention of subletting – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the flat. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the sublease.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement flat in Trimdon.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge 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 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 work for a busy estate agency in Trimdon where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Trimdon conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as 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. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser 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 before, or simultaneously with 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.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Trimdon conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Trimdon conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you talk with two or three firms including non Trimdon conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be of use:

• How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?

How many lease extensions have they carried out in Trimdon in the last year?

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £125000 maisonette in Trimdon in 8 days. The managing agents has quoted £324 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Trimdon?

Trimdon conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes nine out of ten times involves administration charges raised by landlords agents :

• Answering pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Trimdon
• 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 lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Trimdon leasehold premises is £350. For Trimdon 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 supply answers.

Trimdon Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries before Purchasing

Is the freehold reversion owned collectively by the tenants? How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? How much is the ground rent and service charge?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Trimdon