My fiance and I may need to let out our Carlisle basement flat for a while due to a new job. We used a Carlisle conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

A lease governs relations between the landlord and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will indicate if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. Most leases in Carlisle do not contain subletting altogether – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the flat. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

Due to exchange soon on a garden flat in Carlisle. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they are sending me a report on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Carlisle should include some of the following:

• You should be sent a copy of the lease

The physical extent of the demise. This will be the apartment itself but may include a roof space or cellar if applicable.

Defining your rights in respect of the communal areas in the building.By way of example, does the lease grant a right of way over an accessway or hallways?

Will you be prohibited or prevented from having pets in the property?

Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future

Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?

What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Carlisle please ask your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Carlisle

Back In 2003, I bought a leasehold flat in Carlisle. Conveyancing and Alliance & Leicester mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing solicitor in Carlisle who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

First contact HMLR to be sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Carlisle conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Carlisle where we see a few flat sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Carlisle conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as 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 need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

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.

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £325000 garden flat in Carlisle next week. The management company has quoted £372 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Carlisle?

Carlisle conveyancing on leasehold apartments ordinarily necessitates administration charges invoiced by managing agents :

• Addressing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Carlisle
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Carlisle leasehold property is £350. For Carlisle 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 provide the information.

I own a 1st floor flat in Carlisle, conveyancing formalities finalised 2011. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Equivalent flats in Carlisle with over 90 years remaining are worth £225,000. The ground rent is £45 levied per year. The lease ends on 21st October 2074

With 51 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £37,100 and £42,800 as well as costs.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do 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. Neither should you move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Carlisle