My fiance and I may need to rent out our Battle garden flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We used a Battle conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Battle conveyancing solicitor is not available 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 permitted. There may be a precondition that you must obtain permission from your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior consent. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably turned down. If the lease prohibits you from letting out the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

I have recently realised that I have Fifty years remaining on my flat in Battle. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

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 granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to track down the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent would be useful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Battle.

I have just appointed agents to market my 2 bed flat in Battle.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received 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 until 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I am looking at a couple of flats in Battle both have approximately forty five years remaining on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease shortens the saleability of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend money on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £ 200000 garden flat in Battle on Thursday in a week. The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Battle?

For most leasehold sales in Battle conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Addressing pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Battle
• 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 lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Battle leasehold property is £350. For Battle 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 obliged to provide the information.

Battle Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries before buying

The majority of Battle leasehold properties will have a service bill for the upkeep of the block set by the freeholder. Where you buy the flat you will have to meet this amount, normally in instalments throughout the year. This could differ from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. There will also be a rentcharge to be met yearly, normally this is not a exorbitant figure, say approximately £50-£100 but you need to enquire as on occasion it can be many hundreds of pounds. Is anyone aware of any major works in the near future that will add a premium to the service fees?