Helen (my wife) and I may need to rent out our Gloucester garden flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Gloucester conveyancing practice in 2002 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your last Gloucester conveyancing lawyer is no longer around you can check your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the premises. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you need to obtain permission from your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining permission. The consent must not not be unreasonably turned down. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

I have recently realised that I have Sixty One years remaining on my lease in Gloucester. 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 submit an application to the County Court for an order 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 have used your best endeavours to find the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent should be helpful to conduct investigations 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 property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Gloucester.

Looking forward to sign contracts shortly on a garden flat in Gloucester. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they are sending me a report tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Gloucester should include some of the following:

• How long the lease is You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and aware of the importance of the 80 year mark

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Gloucester. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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 am a negotiator for a reputable estate agency in Gloucester where we see a few flat sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Gloucester conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as 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 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 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 buyer.

Gloucester Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

The prefered form of lease structure is a share of the freehold. In this situation the tenants benefit from control and even though a managing agent is often retained where it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants. How much is the yearly service fee and ground rent? Is the freehold owned jointly by the leaseholders?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Gloucester