Consent to lease leasehold flat

sophie1412

Hi,

I have a flat which I would like to rent out as I have now moved in with my partner and despite being up for sale since March I haven't had a single person through the door

The property has a mortgage on it and I am applying through my mortgage company for consent to lease. However, it is also a lease hold flat. Does anyone know if it is necessary to obtain permission from the management company to rent out the flat? I've looked through the lease and I can't see any reference to this at all. I'm not on the best terms with the person who runs the management company and don't particularly want to involve them in it unless absolutely necessary.

Would be interested to hear from others who have rented out flats and how you've gone about it.

Thanks

Werdnal

Yes you should ask permission, and also need to ensure any tenancy agreement covers all the requirements of the lease, for instance, many leasehold flats prohibit pets, so TA must reflect this.

You may find Freeholder agrees - our flat is leasehold and the freeholder owns and rents out several in the block so is happy for us to let.

However, they may refuse, or they may charge a fee.

I assume you are aware of other aspects of letting, ie landlord insurance, gas safety certs, deposit protection, vetting/credit checking tenants, evition procedures and HMRC rules?

sophie1412

Werdnal wrote: »

Yes you should ask permission, and also need to ensure any tenancy agreement covers all the requirements of the lease, for instance, many leasehold flats prohibit pets, so TA must reflect this.

You may find Freeholder agrees - our flat is leasehold and the freeholder owns and rents out several in the block so is happy for us to let.

However, they may refuse, or they may charge a fee.

I assume you are aware of other aspects of letting, ie landlord insurance, gas safety certs, deposit protection, vetting/credit checking tenants, evition procedures and HMRC rules?

Thanks, yes have looked into the other aspects too. Was thinking about letting through an agent and the property is electric only so should make things a bit easier hopefully!

It is only a small block of 8 flats, 4 of which are owned and let out by the person who runs the management company so hopefully there wouldn't be any grounds to refuse my request. However, we are not on good terms and I'm sure the management company representative would be more than happy to make my life difficult!

Thanks for pointing out about covering the rules of the lease in the TA - I'd not thought about that!

Werdnal

We have 8 flats in our block too, and Freeholder owns 4? Very strange co-incidence!

I would write to the FH/Management company, asking permission and if they do agree, get their consent in writing. Verbal agreements have a habit of being conveniently forgotten!

££sc££

That's strange there's nothing in lease, doubt they could refuse consent if there's nothing in lease. Also, give them tenant's details in case they need emergency access, e.g. in case of a leak and make sure you give them your forwarding address

Yorkie1

I agree with ££sc££ that if there's nothing in your lease to prevent you sub-letting, then I can't see how they could prevent you from doing so. You have the right to do what you want with your property subject to the law and the terms of your lease.

You probably need to be looking for clauses in your own lease which might stipulate that you shall not part possession with, rent, lease, sub-let ... etc. There may also be a clause preventing the use of the flat by more than one household unit so you can't let it out to separate individuals (as opposed to a couple, say).

G_M

Depends on your lease. Read it again carefully. If it is silent on the matter, then consent is not required.

More guidance here.