I wish to rent out my leasehold apartment in Castelnau. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?

A small minority of properties in Castelnau do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord cannot unreasonably withhold but, in such cases, they would need to see references. Experience suggests that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting consent.

I only have Sixty One years remaining on my lease in Castelnau. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to find the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent would be useful to carry out a search and to produce a report to be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Castelnau.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to be perfect, at a reasonable price which is making it more attractive. I have just discovered that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues purchasing a leasehold house in Castelnau. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Castelnau are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Castelnau so you should seriously consider looking for a Castelnau conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the landlord’sconsent to conduct changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is part of an estate. Your conveyancer should appraise you on the various issues.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Castelnau from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Castelnau can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Castelnau state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such changes. If you dont have the paperwork in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in the first instance.
• A minority of Castelnau leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
• If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where a dispute is unsettled. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Organising a replacement share certificate can be a lengthy formality and slows down many a Castelnau conveyancing deal. Where a reissued share is needed, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

Having spent months of correspondence we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Castelnau. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a Castelnau conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Castelnau flat is 19 Crisp Road in June 2009. Following a vesting order (Under section 26 of the Leasehold Reform,Housing and Urban Development Act 1993) The tribunal determined that the premium payable for the acquisition of the freehold was £33,756,apportioned as to£12,285 for the lower at and £21,471for the upper fat. This case affected 2 flats. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 68.32 years.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Castelnau what are the most frequent lease defects?

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

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Santander, Skipton Building Society, and Aldermore all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

I am the registered owner of a studio flat in Castelnau, conveyancing was carried out 2009. How much will my lease extension cost? Equivalent properties in Castelnau with a long lease are worth £230,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 charged once a year. The lease expires on 21st October 2088

With just 62 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £20,900 and £24,200 plus legals.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.