Jane (my partner) and I may need to sub-let our Fenstanton 1st floor flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Fenstanton conveyancing practice in 2002 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Fenstanton conveyancing solicitor is no longer around you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the property. The accepted inference is that if the lease is silent, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you need to seek permission from your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of first obtaining consent. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably turned down. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord for their consent.

I have recently realised that I have 68 years remaining on my flat in Fenstanton. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?

On the basis that 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 lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you have used your best endeavours to locate the lessor. On the whole a specialist should be useful to carry out a search and to produce a report which can be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Fenstanton.

I’m about to sell my garden flat in Fenstanton.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a yearly service charge invoice – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is pay 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 managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless 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've recently bought a leasehold property in Fenstanton. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

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. 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).

We expect to complete the sale of our £ 275000 flat in Fenstanton on Tuesday in a week. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Fenstanton?

Fenstanton conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally necessitates the purchaser’s lawyer submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer such questions most will be willing to assist. They are at liberty charge a reasonable administration fee for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it exceeds £800. The administration charge levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration charges, otherwise the charge is not strictly payable. In reality one has no choice but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to sell the property.

Fenstanton Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

Many Fenstanton leasehold properties will be liable to pay a service bill for maintenance of the building invoiced by the landlord. If you acquire the property you will have to meet this contribution, usually quarterly throughout the year. This could vary from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built blocks. In all likelihood there will be a rentcharge for you to pay yearly, this is usually not a exorbitant amount, say around £50-£100 but you should to enquire as sometimes it could be many hundreds of pounds. The best form of lease structure is a share of the freehold. In this arrangement the leaseholders benefit from control and even though a managing agent is often retained where it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves.