My husband and I may need to let out our Cockermouth 1st floor flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Cockermouth conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your last Cockermouth conveyancing solicitor is not around you can check your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the property. The accepted inference is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you need to seek consent via your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior consent. The consent must not not be unreasonably turned down. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord for their consent.

I own a leasehold flat in Cockermouth. Conveyancing and Nationwide Building Society mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing solicitor in Cockermouth who previously acted has now retired.Any advice?

First contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Cockermouth conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Cockermouth. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Cockermouth conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Cockermouth conveyancing practice) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you talk with several firms including non Cockermouth conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be helpful:

• How familiar is the firm with lease extension legislation?

Can they put you in touch with client in Cockermouth who can give a testimonial?

Completion in due on our sale of a £400000 flat in Cockermouth next Thursday . The freeholder has quoted £312 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Cockermouth?

Cockermouth conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally involves administration charges levied by managing agents :

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

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Cockermouth leasehold property is £350. For Cockermouth 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 2 bed flat in Cockermouth, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Corresponding flats in Cockermouth with a long lease are worth £215,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 yearly. The lease expires on 21st October 2099

With only 76 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £9,500 and £11,000 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Cockermouth