Helen (my wife) and I may need to sub-let our Leeswood 1st floor flat temporarily due to a new job. We instructed a Leeswood conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your last Leeswood conveyancing lawyer is no longer available you can review your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you need to seek permission via your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of first obtaining consent. Such consent should not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Leeswood. Conveyancing and HSBC Bank mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing solicitor in Leeswood who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Leeswood conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am attracted to a couple of maisonettes in Leeswood both have about 50 years remaining on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Leeswood is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the salability of the property. The majority of purchasers and mortgage companies, leases with under 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of property with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Leeswood conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Leeswood. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

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. 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).

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Leeswood conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Leeswood conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you make enquires with several firms including non Leeswood conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?
• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?

Leeswood Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing