I wish to sublet my leasehold apartment in Fairford. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?

Notwithstanding that your previous Fairford conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The rule is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to obtain permission via your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. This means that you cannot sublet without first obtaining consent. Such consent should not be unreasonably withheld. If the lease prohibits you from letting out the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

There are only 62 years unexpired on my lease in Fairford. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What are my options?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent should be helpful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Fairford.

Back In 2001, I bought a leasehold house in Fairford. Conveyancing and Barnsley Building Society mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing practitioner in Fairford who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

First contact HMLR to be sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Fairford conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Fairford. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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. A critical element 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).

Completion in due on our sale of a £475000 maisonette in Fairford next week. The freeholder has quoted £312 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Fairford?

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

• Completing pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Fairford
• 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 conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Fairford leasehold property is £350. For Fairford 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 required to provide answers.

I own a garden flat in Fairford, conveyancing having been completed 8 years ago. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Corresponding properties in Fairford with a long lease are worth £173,000. The ground rent is £60 charged once a year. The lease expires on 21st October 2076

With only 52 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £35,200 and £40,600 plus professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in Fairford