My fiance and I may need to rent out our Belmont 1st floor flat temporarily due to a new job. We used a Belmont conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time seek any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Belmont conveyancing lawyer is not available you can review your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the property. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you need to seek permission via your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet without prior permission. The consent must not not be unreasonably withheld. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

There are only 68 years remaining on my flat in Belmont. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What are my options?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you have done all that could be expected to track down the lessor. For most situations an enquiry agent would be helpful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document to be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Belmont.

I today plan to offer on a house that seems to meet my requirements, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have since found out that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Belmont. Conveyancing solicitors have are soon to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Belmont are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Belmont in which case you should be shopping around for a Belmont conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as obtaining the freeholder’spermission to conduct alterations. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your lawyer should advise you fully on all the issues.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Belmont. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

In a situation 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 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).

Completion in due on our sale of a £425000 maisonette in Belmont on Tuesday in a week. The managing agents has quoted £300 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Belmont?

Belmont conveyancing on leasehold apartments nine out of ten times involves administration charges invoiced by freeholders :

• Addressing pre-exchange questions
• 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 solicitor 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 obliged to supply answers.

Notwithstanding our best endeavours, we have been unsuccessful in seeking a lease extension in Belmont. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

in cases where there is a missing landlord or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the LVT to decide the price.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Belmont flat 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 affected 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 60.43 years.