I wish to let out my leasehold apartment in Hyde Park. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

Notwithstanding that your previous Hyde Park conveyancing solicitor is not around you can review your lease to see 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 are obliged to obtain consent via your landlord or some other party before subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining permission. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably turned down. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my garden flat in Hyde Park.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a quarterly service charge invoice – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is clear 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I own a leasehold house in Hyde Park. Conveyancing and The Royal Bank of Scotland mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing solicitor in Hyde Park who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Hyde Park conveyancing solicitor 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 a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in Hyde Park where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Hyde Park conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease 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. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 buyer.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a Hyde Park conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Hyde Park conveyancing firm) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you make enquires with several firms including non Hyde Park conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be of use:

• How familiar is the firm with lease extension legislation?
• What are the legal fees for lease extension work?

I bought a garden flat in Hyde Park, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Comparable properties in Hyde Park with over 90 years remaining are worth £241,000. The ground rent is £60 invoiced every year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2106

With 80 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £11,400 and £13,200 as well as legals.

The suggested premium range above 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 issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.