I would like to sublet my leasehold flat in Yelverton. 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 leaseholder; specifically, 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 Yelverton do not prevent an absolute prevention of subletting – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the property. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the sublease.

There are only Seventy years unexpired on my flat in Yelverton. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What should I do?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the landlord. For most situations a specialist may be useful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Yelverton.

I work for a busy estate agency in Yelverton where we have experienced a few leasehold sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Yelverton conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension process 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. This means 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 has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

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.

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Yelverton conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

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

• How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?

Completion in due on the disposal of our £225000 flat in Yelverton next week. The managing agents has quoted £396 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Yelverton?

Yelverton conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally involves the purchaser’s solicitor submitting enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to these enquiries most will be willing to assist. They may invoice a reasonable administration fee for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it is in excess of £800. The management information fee invoiced by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality you have no option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to sell the property.

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

What prohibitions are contained in the Yelverton Lease? Is the freehold reversion owned jointly by the leaseholders? Most Yelverton leasehold apartments will incur a service charge for maintenance of the building set on behalf of the freeholder. If you purchase the apartment you will have to meet this amount, normally quarterly accross the year. This may vary from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large common areas. There will also be a rentcharge to be met annual, this is usually not a exorbitant sum, say around £25-£75 but you should to enquire it because occasionally it could be many hundreds of pounds.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Yelverton