Experts for Leasehold Conveyancing in Penzance

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Questions and Answers: Penzance leasehold conveyancing

My wife and I may need to rent out our Penzance ground floor flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Penzance conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Even though your last Penzance conveyancing solicitor is not available you can review your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the premises. The accepted inference is that if the lease is silent, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to seek consent via your landlord or some other party before subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of first obtaining permission. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 62 years remaining on my flat in Penzance. I now want to extend my lease but my landlord 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 magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. For most situations a specialist may be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Penzance.

Expecting to exchange soon on a ground floor flat in Penzance. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they are sending me a report next week. What should I be looking out for?

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

  • The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and aware of the importance of the 80 year mark
  • Setting out your legal entitlements in respect of common areas in the block.For instance, does the lease permit a right of way over an accessway or hallways?
  • Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?
  • Does the lease prevent you from renting out the flat, or having a home office for business
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?
  • What you can do if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease? For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Penzance please ask your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Penzance

    • I work for a long established estate agency in Penzance where we have experienced a few flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Penzance conveyancing firms. Can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can start 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 needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

    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 Penzance with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Penzance can be avoided where you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
    • The majority landlords or managing agents in Penzance charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Penzance.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Penzance state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Where you fail to have the paperwork to hand do not contact the landlord without contacting your solicitor before hand.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Organising a re-issued share certificate is often a time consuming formality and delays many a Penzance home move. If a duplicate share is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable double-check via your conveyancers. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the lease term is less than 75 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • Penzance Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

      What is the maintenance charge and ground rent on the property? Is anyone aware of any major works anticipated that will likely add a premium to the maintenance costs? The answer will be useful as a) areas may cause problems for the block as the common areas may begin to deteriorate where services are not paid for b) if the leasehold owners have an issue with the running of the building you will wish to have all the details

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Penzance