I am intending to sublet my leasehold flat in Filton. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?

A lease governs the relationship between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will say if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Filton do not contain subletting altogether – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the property. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the sublease.

There are only Seventy years remaining on my flat in Filton. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What are my options?

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 enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to locate the landlord. On the whole a specialist may be useful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document which can be used as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Filton.

I own a leasehold house in Filton. Conveyancing and Virgin Money mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing solicitor in Filton who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Filton conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Filton. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I work for a busy estate agent office in Filton where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Filton conveyancing firms. Can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension process 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 start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 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 disposal of the property.

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.

Filton Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

The majority of Filton leasehold apartments will be liable to pay a service charge for maintenance of the building levied on behalf of the freeholder. Where you purchase the property you will have to meet this contribution, usually in instalments accross the year. This can differ from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built blocks. In all likelihood there will be a rentcharge to be met annual, normally this is not a significant sum, say about £50-£100 but you need to enquire it because occasionally it could be prohibitively expensive. Generally speaking the outlay for major works are not included within service charges, albeit that there some managing agents in Filton require tenants to pay into a reserve fund created for the specific purpose of establishing a fund for major works.