My wife and I may need to sub-let our Silsoe ground floor flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Silsoe conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time get any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Some leases for properties in Silsoe do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord cannot unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to review 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 have recently realised that I have Sixty One years left on my lease in Silsoe. I now want to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What should I do?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to find the lessor. For most situations a specialist should be useful to try and locate and to produce a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Silsoe.

Due to complete next month on a garden flat in Silsoe. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they will have a report out to me next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• Defining your legal entitlements in relation to the communal areas in the block.By way of example, does the lease permit a right of way over an accessway or hallways?
• Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?
• Whether the lease restricts you from subletting the flat, or having a home office for business
• You should be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
• Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
• What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease?

I am attracted to a couple of maisonettes in Silsoe which have in the region of 50 years unexpired on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Silsoe is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the marketability of the premises. For most buyers and banks, leases with less than 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more positive 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 Silsoe conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed 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.

I work for a reputable estate agent office in Silsoe where we have experienced a few flat sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Silsoe conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

Silsoe Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

If a Silsoe lease has fewer than 80 years it will affect the value of the flat. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely have to extend the lease at some point and you need to have some idea of what this will be. Remember, in most cases you would need to own the premises for two years before you are legally able to exercise a lease extension. The best form of lease structure is if the freehold interest is owned by the leaseholders. In this situation the tenants enjoy being in charge if their destiny and notwithstanding that a managing agent is frequently retained where the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent retained by the leaseholders.