Harry (my fiance) and I may need to let out our Cuckfield ground floor flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We used a Cuckfield conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Cuckfield conveyancing lawyer is not around you can check your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the property. The rule is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you need to obtain consent from your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of first obtaining permission. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I only have 72 years left on my lease in Cuckfield. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What options are available to me?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the freeholder. In some cases a specialist should be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Cuckfield.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my ground floor flat in Cuckfield.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £150000 maisonette in Cuckfield next week. The management company has quoted £300 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Cuckfield?

Cuckfield conveyancing on leasehold apartments often necessitates the purchaser’s conveyancer submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to these enquiries the majority will be willing to assist. They may charge a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it exceeds £800. The administration charge demanded by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the charge is technically not due. Reality however dictates that you have little option but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

What are the common deficiencies that you come across in leases for Cuckfield properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Cuckfield. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the premises
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Halifax, Barnsley Building Society, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to pull out.

I invested in buying a basement flat in Cuckfield, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2008. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Cuckfield with over 90 years remaining are worth £231,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 invoiced every year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2090

With 64 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £14,300 and £16,400 as well as 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 the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Cuckfield