Harry (my fiance) and I may need to rent out our Mossley garden flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We used a Mossley conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Your lease dictates relations between the landlord and you the flat owner; specifically, it will indicate 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. The majority of leases in Mossley do not contain strict prohibition on subletting – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the flat. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Sixty One years unexpired on my lease in Mossley. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the lessor. In some cases a specialist should be useful to carry out a search and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Mossley.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my garden flat in Mossley.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you 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 management companies 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.

Back In 2005, I bought a leasehold flat in Mossley. Conveyancing and Chelsea Building Society mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing solicitor in Mossley who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Mossley conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Completion in due on the disposal of our £450000 garden flat in Mossley in 10 days. The landlords agents has quoted £348 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Mossley?

Mossley conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally involves the buyer’s lawyer submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer these enquiries most will be willing to assist. They may invoice a reasonable charge for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it is above £800. The administration charge levied by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration charges, without which the charge is not strictly payable. In reality you have no choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to sell the property.

I purchased a studio flat in Mossley, conveyancing was carried out 8 years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Mossley with an extended lease are worth £192,000. The ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2081

You have 60 years left to run the likely cost is going to be between £20,900 and £24,200 plus costs.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in Mossley