Jane (my partner) and I may need to sub-let our Callington 1st floor flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Callington conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Even though your last Callington conveyancing lawyer is not available you can review your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the property. The accepted inference is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you need to seek consent from your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining consent. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 68 years unexpired on my flat in Callington. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

On the basis that 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 enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to locate the lessor. On the whole a specialist should be useful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Callington.

You should [be sent a copy of the lease|receive a copy of the lease]

Looking forward to exchange soon on a basement flat in Callington. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they report fully within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

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

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
• The total extent of the demise. This will be the flat itself but could also incorporate a loft or cellar if applicable.
• Defining your legal entitlements in respect of common areas in the building.By way of example, does the lease permit a right of way over an accessway or staircase?
• I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
• The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
• The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building

For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Callington please enquire of your lawyer in advance of your conveyancing in Callington

I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor flat in Callington.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a quarterly service charge demand – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is clear the invoice 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.

Completion in due on the sale of our £ 425000 flat in Callington on Tuesday in a week. The managing agents 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 Callington?

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

• Completing conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Callington
• 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 conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Callington leasehold property is £350. For Callington 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 answers.

I am the registered owner of a basement flat in Callington, conveyancing was carried out 2006. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable flats in Callington with over 90 years remaining are worth £183,000. The ground rent is £65 yearly. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2080

With 54 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £29,500 and £34,000 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

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 in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.