My wife and I may need to let out our Cambourne 1st floor flat for a while due to a new job. We used a Cambourne conveyancing firm in 2002 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

A small minority of properties in Cambourne do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to review references. Experience dictates that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting consent.

There are only 68 years left on my flat in Cambourne. I am keen to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. What options are available to me?

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 magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the lessor. On the whole a specialist should be useful to try and locate and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Cambourne.

I am looking at a couple of maisonettes in Cambourne which have about fifty years left on the lease term. should I be concerned?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease reduces 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. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage companies may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Cambourne conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Cambourne conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you make enquires with several firms including non Cambourne conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be useful:

• How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?

All being well we will complete the sale of our £125000 garden flat in Cambourne on Friday in a week. The freeholder has quoted £312 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Cambourne?

Cambourne conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes more often than not involves the purchaser’s lawyer submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address these enquiries most will be content to do so. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is above £800. The administration charge levied by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. In reality you have no option but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

I inherited a ground floor flat in Cambourne, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Comparable flats in Cambourne with a long lease are worth £206,000. The ground rent is £60 per annum. The lease ceases on 21st October 2089

With only 63 years unexpired 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 renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs without more detailed investigations. You should not use this information 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 placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Cambourne