I wish to rent out my leasehold flat in Howden. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

Notwithstanding that your previous Howden conveyancing lawyer is not available you can check your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The rule is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must obtain permission from your landlord or some other party before subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of first obtaining consent. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably withheld. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Fifty years left on my flat in Howden. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. 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 enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to find the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent may be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document which can be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Howden.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Howden conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Howden conveyancing practice) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you speak with two or three firms including non Howden conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be useful:

• How many lease extensions have they completed in Howden in the last twenty four months?
• What are the legal fees for lease extension work?

Completion in due on our sale of a £ 350000 apartment in Howden next week. The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Howden?

Howden conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes more often than not necessitates the purchaser’s lawyer submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so. They may charge a reasonable administration fee for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it exceeds £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration charges, otherwise the charge is technically not due. In reality you have little option but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to sell the property.

Are there common problems that you see in leases for Howden properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Howden. All leases are individual and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain provisions are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You may have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. HSBC Bank, The Mortgage Works, and Aldermore all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Howden - Examples of Queries before Purchasing

Who manages the building? Are any of leasehold owners in arrears of their service charge liability? The majority of Howden leasehold flats will have a service bill for maintenance of the building levied by the landlord. Where you purchase the flat you will have to pay this amount, usually quarterly during the year. This could vary from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built blocks. In all likelihood there will be a rentcharge to be met yearly, ordinarily this is not a exorbitant sum, say around £25-£75 but you should to check it because on occasion it can be prohibitively expensive.