I am intending to let out my leasehold flat in Hungerford. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?

The lease dictates relations between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will say if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Hungerford do not contain strict prohibition on subletting – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the property. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the sublease.

I have recently realised that I have Fifty years left on my flat in Hungerford. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?

If you qualify, 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 extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you have done all that could be expected to find the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent should be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document which can be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Hungerford.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Hungerford. 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 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).

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Hungerford with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Hungerford can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers representatives.
• Many freeholders or Management Companies in Hungerford levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Hungerford.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Hungerford leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord approving such changes. If you fail to have the paperwork in place do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer before hand.
• If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate can be a time consuming process and slows down many a Hungerford conveyancing deal. Where a duplicate share certificate is needed, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this as soon as possible.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to verify this via your lawyers. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is under 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

All being well we will complete the sale of our £ 400000 apartment in Hungerford next week. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Hungerford?

For most leasehold sales in Hungerford conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Completing conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Hungerford
• 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 Hungerford leasehold premises is £350. For Hungerford 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 the information.

I bought a split level flat in Hungerford, conveyancing was carried out in 2004. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Hungerford with a long lease are worth £260,000. The ground rent is £45 levied per year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2080

With 54 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £34,200 and £39,600 as well as legals.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.