My wife and I may need to rent out our Kelvedon ground floor flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Kelvedon conveyancing firm in 2002 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time get any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Kelvedon conveyancing solicitor is not around you can review your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to obtain permission via your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of first obtaining permission. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably turned down. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

I have recently realised that I have Fifty years remaining on my flat in Kelvedon. I now want to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. 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 granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have done all that could be expected to find the lessor. On the whole a specialist should be useful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Kelvedon.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Kelvedon. Am I liable to pay 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. It is an essential part 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).

We expect to complete our sale of a £175000 maisonette in Kelvedon next week. The landlords agents has quoted £384 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Kelvedon?

Kelvedon conveyancing on leasehold flats normally necessitates the purchaser’s solicitor sending questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address such questions most will be content to do so. They may invoice a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it is in excess of £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the invoice is technically not due. In reality you have no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Kelvedon what are the most common lease problems?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Kelvedon. All leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the property
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. HSBC Bank, Leeds Building Society, and Alliance & Leicester all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to pull out.

I acquired a leasehold flat in Kelvedon, conveyancing formalities finalised 8 years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Corresponding properties in Kelvedon with a long lease are worth £172,000. The ground rent is £60 levied per year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2090

You have 66 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £12,400 and £14,200 as well as professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

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Lease Extensions in Kelvedon