I am intending to sublet my leasehold apartment in Woodbury. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Your lease governs relations between the freeholder 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. The majority of leases in Woodbury do not prevent strict prohibition on subletting – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the property. In most cases there is a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a copy of the sublease.

Looking forward to sign contracts shortly on a leasehold property in Woodbury. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they are sending me a report next week. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Woodbury should include some of the following:

• The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and aware of the importance of the 80 year mark
• Does the lease prevent you from subletting the property, or working from home
• Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames
• What you can do if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease?

I work for a long established estate agency in Woodbury where we see a few flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Woodbury conveyancing firms. 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 owned the lease 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 proposed purchaser need not have 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.

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 choosing a Woodbury conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Woodbury conveyancing firm) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you talk with several firms including non Woodbury conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be of use:

• How familiar is the firm with lease extension legislation?
• Can they put you in touch with client in Woodbury who can give a testimonial?

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Woodbury with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Woodbury can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• The majority freeholders or managing agents in Woodbury charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Woodbury.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Woodbury leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord approving such changes. Should you dont have the approvals to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor in the first instance.
• If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is unresolved. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over rather than ongoing.
• If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Arranging a duplicate share certificate is often a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Woodbury conveyancing transaction. If a new share is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Woodbury - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing

Is the freehold owned jointly by the leaseholders?