My wife and I may need to let out our Houghton Regis garden flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Houghton Regis conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time seek any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your last Houghton Regis conveyancing lawyer is not available you can review your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The rule is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must obtain permission via your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior consent. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably turned down. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Looking forward to sign contracts shortly on a basement flat in Houghton Regis. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they report fully next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and informed of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
• Defining your legal entitlements in respect of the communal areas in the building.E.G., does the lease permit a right of way over an accessway or staircase?
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
• Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
• What options are open to you if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease?

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently discovered that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns purchasing a leasehold house in Houghton Regis. Conveyancing solicitors have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Houghton Regis are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Houghton Regis so you should seriously consider looking for a Houghton Regis conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the landlord’spermission to conduct alterations. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the house is part of an estate. Your conveyancer should report to you on the legal implications.

I own a leasehold flat in Houghton Regis. Conveyancing and Alliance & Leicester mortgage are in place. 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 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Houghton Regis who previously acted has now retired.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Houghton Regis conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I work for a busy estate agency in Houghton Regis where we see a few flat sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Houghton Regis conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. 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 agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

Houghton Regis Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries before Purchasing

Is there a share of the freehold? Many Houghton Regis leasehold properties will have a service bill for the upkeep of the block levied by the freeholder. Where you buy the apartment you will have to pay this charge, usually periodically during the year. This can differ from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built buildings. There will also be a ground rent for you to pay yearly, normally this is not a large figure, say approximately £50-£100 but you need to enquire as occasionally it can be surprisingly expensive. What restrictions exist in the Houghton Regis Lease?