Helen (my wife) and I may need to sub-let our Shenstone garden flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We used a Shenstone conveyancing practice in 2001 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

The lease governs relations between the landlord and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will indicate if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. The majority of leases in Shenstone do not contain an absolute prevention of subletting – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the flat. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

I only have 62 years unexpired on my lease in Shenstone. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What options are available to me?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to find the lessor. On the whole a specialist would be useful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Shenstone.

I have just appointed agents to market my 2 bed flat in Shenstone.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

It best that you discharge the service charge as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Shenstone. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner 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. It is an essential part 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).

I am employed by a reputable estate agency in Shenstone where we have witnessed a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Shenstone conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease 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 buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. 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 buyer.

Shenstone Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries Prior to Purchasing

The prefered form of lease structure is a share of the freehold. In this arrangement the lessees benefit from control and although a managing agent is usually retained if the building is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants. Can you inform me if there are any major works in the planning that will increase the service charges? This information is helpful as a) areas could cause problems in the block as the common areas may start to deteriorate if maintenance are not paid for b) if the leaseholders have a dispute with the running of the building you will wish to have full disclosure

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Lease Extensions in Shenstone