My husband and I may need to let out our Ulverston basement flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We used a Ulverston conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time seek any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Even though your last Ulverston conveyancing solicitor is not available you can review your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the property. The accepted inference is that if the lease is silent, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to seek consent from your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet in the absence of first obtaining permission. The consent should not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

I have recently realised that I have 72 years left on my flat in Ulverston. I need to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What are my options?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have used your best endeavours to track down the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent may be useful to try and locate and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Ulverston.

I have just appointed agents to market my 2 bed apartment in Ulverston.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is 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 management companies 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've recently bought a leasehold flat in Ulverston. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

What are your top tips when it comes to appointing a Ulverston conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Ulverston conveyancing firm) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you make enquires with several firms including non Ulverston conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be useful:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?
• What volume of lease extensions have they conducted in Ulverston in the last year?

Leasehold Conveyancing in Ulverston - Examples of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

How many years remain on the lease?