Harry (my fiance) and I may need to sub-let our Bridlington garden flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We used a Bridlington conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Your lease governs relations between the landlord and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will set out if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. The majority of leases in Bridlington do not prevent an absolute prevention of subletting – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the flat. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

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

It best that you discharge 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 management companies 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.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Bridlington. Conveyancing and TSB mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing practitioner in Bridlington who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Bridlington conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am attracted to a couple of apartments in Bridlington which have about 50 years remaining on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease reduces and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

Completion in due on the disposal of our £ 200000 garden flat in Bridlington in 5 days. The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Bridlington?

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

• Answering pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Bridlington
• 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 Bridlington leasehold premises is £350. For Bridlington 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 answers.

I acquired a leasehold flat in Bridlington, conveyancing was carried out 10 years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Bridlington with over 90 years remaining are worth £218,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 invoiced every year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2093

With just 67 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £15,200 and £17,600 plus professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.