My partner and I may need to rent out our Newbury ground floor flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We used a Newbury conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Newbury conveyancing solicitor is not around you can check your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the premises. The rule is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you need to seek permission via your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet without prior permission. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably withheld. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 68 years remaining on my flat in Newbury. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?

If 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 lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to find the landlord. In some cases a specialist would be useful to conduct investigations and prepare a report to be used as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Newbury.

Expecting to exchange soon on a ground floor flat in Newbury. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they are sending me a report on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Newbury should include some of the following:

• Setting out your rights in respect of common areas in the block.E.G., does the lease include a right of way over a path or staircase?
• Whether the lease restricts you from subletting the flat, or working from home
• You need to be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
• The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
• The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building
• What options are open to you if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease?
• What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease?

I own a leasehold house in Newbury. Conveyancing and Nottingham Building Society mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received 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 1998. The conveyancing solicitor in Newbury who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Newbury conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

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

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Newbury can be avoided if you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• The majority landlords or Management Companies in Newbury charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Newbury.
• A minority of Newbury leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the yearly 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Organising a re-issued share certificate is often a time consuming process and frustrates many a Newbury conveyancing deal. Where a duplicate share certificate is required, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to verify this via your lawyers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is under 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

I bought a ground floor flat in Newbury, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2007. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Newbury with a long lease are worth £237,000. The ground rent is £45 levied per year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2096

With 70 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £10,500 and £12,000 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.