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

The lease governs the relationship between the landlord and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will say if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Histon do not prevent strict prohibition on subletting – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the flat. In most cases there is a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a copy of the sublease.

I have just started marketing my 2 bed flat in Histon.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a quarterly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Histon. 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. Strange as it may seem, 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 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).

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Histon conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Histon conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you speak with several firms including non Histon conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be useful:

• How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?

Are there common problems that you encounter in leases for Histon properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Histon is not unique. Most leases are individual and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain provisions are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Nationwide Building Society, Leeds Building Society, and Alliance & Leicester all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

I acquired a 2 bed flat in Histon, conveyancing was carried out 2007. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Equivalent flats in Histon with a long lease are worth £211,000. The ground rent is £50 invoiced every year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2079

With only 54 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £29,500 and £34,000 plus costs.

The suggested premium range that we have given is 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 are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Histon