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

Some leases for properties in Arkley do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord cannot unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to review references. Experience dictates that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting permission.

There are only 72 years left on my flat in Arkley. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What should I do?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order 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 or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the freeholder. For most situations an enquiry agent may be helpful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be used as evidence 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 Arkley.

Looking forward to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in Arkley. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they are sending me a report within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Arkley should include some of the following:

• Defining your legal entitlements in relation to the communal areas in the block.For example, does the lease include a right of way over a path or hallways?
• Will you be prohibited or prevented from having pets in the property?
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
• An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Arkley. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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).

I work for a busy estate agency in Arkley where we have experienced a few leasehold sales derailed due to short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Arkley conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

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.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without any joy. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal decide on such issues? Can you recommend a Arkley conveyancing firm to help?

Where there is a absentee freeholder or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the LVT to determine the price.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Arkley property is Ground Floor Maisonette 17 Milton Road in January 2014. The Tribunal determined the premium payable by the Applicant to the should be £13,299 This case related to 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 71.73 years.

I bought a 1st floor flat in Arkley, conveyancing was carried out in 2011. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Arkley with over 90 years remaining are worth £225,000. The ground rent is £45 levied per year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2096

You have 70 years left to run the likely cost is going to be between £8,600 and £9,800 as well as legals.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.