My husband and I may need to let out our Howden ground floor flat for a while due to a new job. We used a Howden conveyancing firm in 2002 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

The lease dictates relations between the landlord and you the flat owner; in particular, it will say if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. Most leases in Howden do not contain strict prohibition on subletting – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the property. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the sublease.

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Howden where we see a few leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Howden 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 been the owner 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. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is 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 purchaser.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Howden from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Howden can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers lawyers.
• The majority landlords or managing agents in Howden levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Howden.

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £375000 flat in Howden on Monday in a week. The landlords agents has quoted £396 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Howden?

Howden conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually involves the purchaser’s solicitor submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to such questions the majority will be content to assist. They are at liberty charge a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is above £800. The administration charge levied by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that one has no choice but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Howden what are the most common lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in Howden is not unique. All leases are individual and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You will have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Barclays , Leeds Building Society, and Aldermore all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

Howden Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries before buying

If a Howden lease has no more than 80 years it will affect the marketability of the property. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. A short lease means that you will probably have to extend the lease at some point and you need to have some idea of how much this would cost. Remember, in most cases you will need to own the premises for two years before you are entitled to extend the lease. How much is the service charge and ground rent on the flat? Plenty Howden leasehold apartments will have a service charge for maintenance of the block levied on behalf of the management company. Where you purchase the apartment you will have to pay this amount, usually quarterly during the year. This may vary from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built buildings. In all likelihood there will be a ground rent to be met annual, ordinarily this is not a exorbitant sum, say around £50-£100 but you should to check it because sometimes it can be surprisingly expensive.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Howden