Frank (my husband) and I may need to sub-let our Waddon 1st floor flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Waddon conveyancing practice in 2002 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Waddon conveyancing lawyer is not available you can check your lease to see 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 obtain consent from your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior consent. The consent should not be unreasonably turned down. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

There are only Fifty years remaining on my lease in Waddon. I need to extend my lease 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 lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to locate the freeholder. For most situations an enquiry agent should be useful to conduct investigations and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Waddon.

Expecting to sign contracts shortly on a leasehold property in Waddon. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they report fully tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

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

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
• The total extent of the property. This will be the flat itself but might include a roof space or basement if appropriate.
• Does the lease prevent you from letting out the flat, or having a home office for business
• You should be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
• 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
• What options are open to you if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease?

I have just started marketing my ground floor flat in Waddon.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Waddon. 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 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).

After years of dialogue we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Waddon. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a Waddon conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Waddon property is 29 Woodstock Road in April 2014. the Tribunal determined that the premiums to be paid into court in respect of the purchase of the freehold registered at HMLR under Title N0.SY3997 should be £7,217. This case related to 4 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 98 years.

I am the registered owner of a garden flat in Waddon, conveyancing was carried out 2004. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Corresponding flats in Waddon with a long lease are worth £233,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 charged once a year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2098

You have 72 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £11,400 and £13,200 as well as professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.