I am intending to let out my leasehold apartment in Carmarthen. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

Your lease governs relations between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will say if subletting is prohibited, 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. Most leases in Carmarthen do not contain an absolute prevention of subletting – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the flat. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the sublease.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Sixty One years left on my flat in Carmarthen. I am keen to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. What are my options?

On the basis that you qualify, 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 mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you have used your best endeavours to track down the landlord. In some cases a specialist should be useful to try and locate and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Carmarthen.

Planning to sign contracts shortly on a garden flat in Carmarthen. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they will have a report out to me on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• Defining your legal entitlements in respect of the communal areas in the building.For instance, does the lease contain a right of way over a path or hallways?

You should be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease

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 reserve fund?

Repair and maintenance of the flat

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

What options are open to you if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Carmarthen please enquire of your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Carmarthen

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agency in Carmarthen where we see a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Carmarthen conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities 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 commence 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 before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

We expect to complete the sale of our £225000 apartment in Carmarthen next Wednesday . The landlords agents has quoted £396 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Carmarthen?

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

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

I am the registered owner of a 1 bedroom flat in Carmarthen, conveyancing having been completed 6 years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Carmarthen with an extended lease are worth £186,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 charged once a year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2075

With 50 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £38,000 and £44,000 as well as professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Carmarthen