My fiance and I may need to let out our Belmont garden flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Belmont 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 permits subletting. How do we find out?

A lease governs the relationship between the freeholder and you the flat owner; in particular, it will say if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Belmont do not prevent strict prohibition on subletting – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the flat. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the sublease.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently been informed that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns purchasing a leasehold house in Belmont. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Belmont ?

Most houses in Belmont are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Belmont so you should seriously consider looking for a Belmont conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the landlord’spermission to carry out changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the house is part of an estate. Your conveyancer will advise you fully on all the issues.

I work for a reputable estate agent office in Belmont where we have experienced a number of flat sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Belmont conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer 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 before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 purchaser.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Belmont with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Belmont can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers representatives.
• Many landlords or managing agents in Belmont levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. 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 Belmont.

A minority of Belmont leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.

If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.

You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable verify this via your solicitors. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is below 80 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £425000 garden flat in Belmont next Friday . The landlords agents has quoted £372 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Belmont?

Belmont conveyancing on leasehold apartments ordinarily necessitates fees being invoiced by managing agents :

• Answering pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Belmont
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Belmont leasehold premises is £350. For Belmont 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 supply answers.

My wife and I have hit a brick wall in seeking a lease extension in Belmont. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

Where there is a absentee freeholder or where there is dispute 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 First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to make a decision on the premium.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Belmont residence is 33 The Maisonettes Alberta Avenue in June 2014. the Tribunal decided that the premium payable for the grant of a new lease be the sum of £20,680 (Twenty Thousand six hundred and eighty pounds). This case related to 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 60.43 years.