I would like to let out my leasehold apartment in Flitwick. 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 last Flitwick conveyancing solicitor is no longer around you can check your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the property. The rule is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you must seek consent from your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior permission. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I only have 72 years remaining on my flat in Flitwick. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What are my options?

If 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 for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the lessor. In some cases an enquiry agent should be helpful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document to be used as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Flitwick.

Back In 2000, I bought a leasehold house in Flitwick. Conveyancing and Britannia mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing solicitor in Flitwick who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Flitwick conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am employed by a reputable estate agent office in Flitwick where we have witnessed a few flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Flitwick conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.

Completion in due on the disposal of our £ 425000 garden flat in Flitwick next Tuesday . The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Flitwick?

Flitwick conveyancing on leasehold flats normally results in administration charges levied by freeholders :

• Addressing conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Flitwick
• 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 lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Flitwick leasehold property is £350. For Flitwick 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 obliged to provide the information.

I am the registered owner of a 1st floor flat in Flitwick, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2009. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Similar flats in Flitwick with over 90 years remaining are worth £217,000. The ground rent is £45 invoiced annually. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2086

With just 60 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £22,800 and £26,400 as well as costs.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.