I wish to rent out my leasehold flat in Bookham. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

Notwithstanding that your previous Bookham conveyancing solicitor is no longer around you can review your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the premises. The rule is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to seek permission from your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior permission. 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 unexpired on my flat in Bookham. 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 apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the freeholder. For most situations an enquiry agent may be useful to conduct investigations and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Bookham.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement flat in Bookham.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is clear 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 a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Bookham where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales put at risk due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Bookham conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is 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.

All being well we will complete the sale of our £350000 garden flat in Bookham in just under a week. The landlords agents has quoted £324 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Bookham?

Bookham conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally involves administration charges levied by freeholders :

• Answering conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Bookham
• 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 Bookham leasehold property is £350. For Bookham 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 supply the information.

Bookham Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries before Purchasing

This information is important as a) areas could result in problems for the building as the communal areas may start to deteriorate if maintenance remain unpaid b) if the leasehold owners have a dispute with the managing agents you will need to know about it Is the freehold owned jointly by the tenants? Make sure you enquire if there are any onerous restrictions in the lease. For instance plenty of leases prohibit pets being permitted in certain buildings in Bookham. If you love the apartmentin Bookham but your cat is not allowed to live with you then you will be faced hard compromise.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Bookham