Jane (my partner) and I may need to let out our Crowthorne basement flat temporarily due to a new job. We instructed a Crowthorne conveyancing practice in 2001 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Your lease dictates relations between the landlord and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will set out if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. The majority of leases in Crowthorne do not contain an absolute prevention of subletting – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the flat. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the sublease.

Back In 2007, I bought a leasehold house in Crowthorne. Conveyancing and Barclays Direct mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing solicitor in Crowthorne who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

First contact HMLR to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Crowthorne conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Crowthorne conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Crowthorne conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Crowthorne conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be useful:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?
• What are the costs for lease extension conveyancing?

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Crowthorne with the purpose of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Crowthorne can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Crowthorne state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord approving such changes. If you dont have the consents to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor in advance.
• Some Crowthorne leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Organising a new share certificate can be a time consuming process and delays many a Crowthorne home move. Where a new share is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.
• You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check via your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is under 80 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £ 375000 garden flat in Crowthorne next week. The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Crowthorne?

Crowthorne conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes more often than not necessitates the purchaser’s conveyancer submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address such questions most will be content to assist. They may levy a reasonable administration fee for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it exceeds £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration charges, without which the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality one has little option but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

I invested in buying a 1 bedroom flat in Crowthorne, conveyancing having been completed 3 years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Similar flats in Crowthorne with over 90 years remaining are worth £256,000. The ground rent is £60 invoiced every year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2091

You have 65 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £16,200 and £18,600 plus legals.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures 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. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.