I wish to let out my leasehold apartment in Turvey. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?

Even though your previous Turvey conveyancing lawyer is not available you can check your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The rule is that if the lease is silent, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to obtain consent from your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior consent. Such consent must not not be unreasonably withheld. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord for their consent.

I have recently realised that I have 68 years unexpired on my flat in Turvey. I now want to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What options are available to me?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the lessor. In some cases a specialist would be useful to conduct investigations and to produce a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Turvey.

I've found a house that seems to meet my requirements, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have since found out that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Turvey. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Turvey ?

Most houses in Turvey are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Turvey in which case you should be shopping around for a Turvey conveyancing solicitor and check 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 tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions for example obtaining the freeholder’sconsent to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your conveyancer will advise you fully on all the issues.

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Turvey where we have witnessed a few flat sales put at risk due to short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Turvey conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. 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.

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.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Turvey conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Turvey conveyancing practice) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you talk with two or three firms including non Turvey conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be of use:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

I invested in buying a 1st floor flat in Turvey, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Equivalent properties in Turvey with over 90 years remaining are worth £200,000. The ground rent is £65 invoiced annually. The lease ceases on 21st October 2089

With 64 years left to run the likely cost is going to span between £18,100 and £20,800 plus costs.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Turvey