My partner and I may need to sub-let our Abergele 1st floor flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We used a Abergele conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Abergele conveyancing solicitor is not available you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the premises. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must seek consent via your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. This means that you cannot sublet without prior permission. The consent should not be unreasonably turned down. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I only have 62 years remaining on my flat in Abergele. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, 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 enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have used your best endeavours to find the landlord. On the whole a specialist should be helpful to carry out a search and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Abergele.

I am looking at a couple of flats in Abergele which have in the region of fifty years remaining on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Abergele is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the value of the premises. For most purchasers and banks, leases with under eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Abergele conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I work for a busy estate agent office in Abergele where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Abergele conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence 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.

An alternative approach is 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 Abergele conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Abergele conveyancing practice) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you speak with two or three firms including non Abergele conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be of use:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

Leasehold Conveyancing in Abergele - Examples of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

What restrictions are contained in the Abergele Lease? It would be wise to find out as much as possible about the managing agents as they will either make your life much simpler or uncomfortable. Being a leasehold owner you are frequently in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to day to day issues such as the cleanliness of the common parts. Ask other people if they are happy with their service. On a final note, be sure you know the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the relevant party and precisely what it includes. Who takes responsibility for maintaining and repairing the block?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Abergele