My fiance and I may need to let out our Ambleside basement flat for a while due to a new job. We used a Ambleside conveyancing practice in 2003 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?

Even though your last Ambleside conveyancing lawyer is not around you can check your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the property. The rule is that if the lease is silent, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you need to seek consent from your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining consent. The consent should not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I have recently realised that I have 62 years left on my lease in Ambleside. I now want to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What options are available to me?

On the basis that 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 enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to find the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent may be helpful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be used as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Ambleside.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Ambleside conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Ambleside conveyancing practice) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you talk with two or three firms including non Ambleside conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be helpful:

• How many lease extensions have they conducted in Ambleside in the last twenty four months?
• What are the charges for lease extension work?

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Ambleside with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Ambleside can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
• The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Ambleside levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. 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 common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Ambleside.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Ambleside leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord approving such works. Where you fail to have the consents to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer first.
• If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is below 75 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

We expect to complete the sale of our £ 175000 garden flat in Ambleside in 5 days. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Ambleside?

Ambleside conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally involves the purchaser’s lawyer submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address such questions the majority will be willing to assist. They are entitled levy a reasonable charge for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it exceeds £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the invoice is technically not due. In reality one has little choice but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

I inherited a garden flat in Ambleside, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Corresponding properties in Ambleside with a long lease are worth £214,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 yearly. The lease terminates on 21st October 2104

With just 78 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.