I would like to rent out my leasehold apartment in Newbury Park. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?

Notwithstanding that your previous Newbury Park conveyancing solicitor is not available you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the premises. The rule is that if the lease is silent, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must seek permission via your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining consent. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably withheld. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord for their consent.

Back In 2001, I bought a leasehold house in Newbury Park. Conveyancing and Leeds Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing solicitor in Newbury Park who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Newbury Park conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured 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 agency in Newbury Park where we see a number of flat sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Newbury Park conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as 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 need not have 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 at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Newbury Park conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Newbury Park conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you speak with two or three firms including non Newbury Park conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be of use:

• How many lease extensions has the firm conducted in Newbury Park in the last year?

What are the charges for lease extension conveyancing?

We expect to complete our sale of a £250000 flat in Newbury Park in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £372 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Newbury Park?

Newbury Park conveyancing on leasehold flats nine out of ten times results in fees being levied by management companies :

• Addressing conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Newbury Park
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Newbury Park leasehold premises is £350. For Newbury Park 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 the information.

We have reached the end of our tether in trying to purchase the freehold in Newbury Park. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

Most certainly. We are happy to put you in touch with a Newbury Park conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Newbury Park residence is 104 Coventry Road in July 2014. The Tribunal determined that the lease extension permium should be £22,896.15 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 60.29 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Newbury Park