I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Anlaby. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Anlaby - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

My husband and I may need to rent out our Anlaby 1st floor flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Anlaby conveyancing firm in 2002 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Some leases for properties in Anlaby do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably withhold but, in such cases, they would need to see 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 just appointed agents to market my ground floor apartment in Anlaby.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a yearly service charge invoice – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay 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 am employed by a long established estate agency in Anlaby where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Anlaby conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?

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 proposed purchaser 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 needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as 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.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £ 300000 apartment in Anlaby next week. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Anlaby?

Anlaby conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes nine out of ten times necessitates administration charges invoiced by freeholders :

• Completing pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Anlaby
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Anlaby leasehold property is £350. For Anlaby conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to provide the information.

I invested in buying a 2 bed flat in Anlaby, conveyancing was carried out 2011. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Comparable properties in Anlaby with an extended lease are worth £166,000. The ground rent is £45 per annum. The lease ceases on 21st October 2083

With just 57 years left to run the likely cost is going to be between £26,600 and £30,800 as well as costs.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.