My husband and I may need to rent out our Exeter garden flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Exeter conveyancing firm in 2002 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your last Exeter conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The rule is that if the lease is silent, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to obtain permission from your landlord or some other party before subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior permission. Such consent should not be unreasonably turned down. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement apartment in Exeter.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you 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.

I own a leasehold flat in Exeter. Conveyancing and Britannia mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing solicitor in Exeter who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Exeter conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Exeter. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before 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 be sure 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).

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

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Exeter conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you talk with two or three firms including non Exeter conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?
• What volume of lease extensions have they carried out in Exeter in the last year?

Exeter Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries before Purchasing

The best form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this scenario the leaseholders have control and although a managing agent is usually employed if it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves.