Jane (my partner) and I may need to sub-let our Henbury basement flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We used a Henbury conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

A lease dictates relations between the landlord and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will set out if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. The majority of leases in Henbury do not prevent subletting altogether – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the flat. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the sublease.

There are only 68 years remaining on my flat in Henbury. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?

If 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. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the lessor. In some cases an enquiry agent may be useful to try and locate and prepare a report which can 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 proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Henbury.

I am hoping to complete next month on a studio apartment in Henbury. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they will have a report out to me within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Henbury should include some of the following:

• You should receive a copy of the lease

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

In a situation 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. 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).

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Henbury conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Henbury conveyancing firm) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Henbury conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be useful:

• How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?

Henbury Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries before Purchasing

Does this lease have more than 90 years unexpired? If a Henbury lease has less than 80 years it will impact the value of the property. It is worth checking with your lender that they are willing to lend given the lease term. A short lease means that you will almost definitely require a lease extension at some point and it is worth finding out what this will be. Remember, in most cases you will need to own the residence for a couple of years in order to be entitled to exercise a lease extension. The answer will be important as a) areas can cause problems for the building as the communal areas may start to deteriorate if services are not paid for b) if the tenants have an issue with the managing agents you will need to have full disclosure

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Henbury