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

A small minority of properties in Eaglescliffe do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to see references. Experience suggests that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting consent.

I am looking at a couple of apartments in Eaglescliffe which have about fifty years unexpired on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Eaglescliffe is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the value of the property. The majority of buyers and lenders, leases with less than eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more positive 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 Eaglescliffe conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new 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 am employed by a reputable estate agent office in Eaglescliffe where we have experienced a few leasehold sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Eaglescliffe conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner 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 can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as 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 buyer.

We expect to complete our sale of a £250000 flat in Eaglescliffe in just under a week. The freeholder has quoted £336 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Eaglescliffe?

Eaglescliffe conveyancing on leasehold apartments more often than not requires the purchaser’s conveyancer submitting enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address these enquiries most will be content to do so. 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 paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it exceeds £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that one has no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Eaglescliffe what are the most frequent lease problems?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Eaglescliffe. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Nationwide Building Society, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Barclays Direct all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

I own a 1st floor flat in Eaglescliffe, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2006. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Comparable flats in Eaglescliffe with over 90 years remaining are worth £220,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 charged once a year. The lease ends on 21st October 2081

With only 57 years left to run the likely cost is going to range between £23,800 and £27,400 plus professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in Eaglescliffe