I would like to sublet my leasehold flat in Buxton. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?

Notwithstanding that your last Buxton conveyancing lawyer is not available you can review your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to obtain consent via your landlord or some other party before subletting. This means that you cannot sublet without first obtaining permission. The consent should not be unreasonably turned down. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Looking forward to complete next month on a leasehold property in Buxton. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they are sending me a report within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Buxton should include some of the following:

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord

I have just started marketing my 2 bed flat in Buxton.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a half-yearly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

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 agent office in Buxton where we have experienced a few leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Buxton conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can commence 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 for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 buyer.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £275000 maisonette in Buxton in seven days. The freeholder has quoted £420 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Buxton?

Buxton conveyancing on leasehold apartments often requires the buyer’s lawyer submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to such questions most will be content to assist. They are at liberty charge a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions 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 charges, otherwise the charge is technically not due. In reality you have little option but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to sell the property.

I inherited a 2 bed flat in Buxton, conveyancing having been completed 9 years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Buxton with a long lease are worth £204,000. The ground rent is £60 invoiced annually. The lease ceases on 21st October 2079

You have 58 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £27,600 and £31,800 plus costs.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Buxton