Jane (my partner) and I may need to rent out our Yaxley basement flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Yaxley conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Your lease governs relations between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will set out if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The rule is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Yaxley do not prevent subletting altogether – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the flat. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the sublease.

I only have Fifty years unexpired on my flat in Yaxley. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What should I do?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the lessor. In some cases an enquiry agent should be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare a report which can be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Yaxley.

I am employed by a reputable estate agent office in Yaxley where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Yaxley conveyancing firms. Can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 buyer.

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Yaxley conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Yaxley conveyancing practice) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Yaxley conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be useful:

• How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?

Can they put you in touch with client in Yaxley who can give a testimonial?

All being well we will complete the sale of our £200000 flat in Yaxley next week. The management company has quoted £420 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Yaxley?

Yaxley conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally necessitates administration charges raised by landlords agents :

• Answering pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Yaxley
• 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 Yaxley leasehold premises is £350. For Yaxley 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 obliged to provide answers.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Yaxley - Examples of Queries Prior to Purchasing

The prefered form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this scenario the leaseholders have being in charge if their destiny and notwithstanding that a managing agent is often employed where it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants. Be sure to investigate if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. For instance plenty of leases prohibit pets being allowed in certain buildings in Yaxley. If you love the propertyin Yaxley yet your cat can’t live with you then you will be faced difficult choice. Generally speaking the outlay for major works are not incorporated into the maintenance charges, albeit that a few managing agents in Yaxley ask tenants to pay into a sinking fund created for the specific purpose of establishing a fund for major works.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Yaxley