I want to rent out my leasehold flat in Newport Pagnell. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Even though your previous Newport Pagnell conveyancing solicitor is not around you can review your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the property. The rule is that if the lease is silent, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to obtain permission via your landlord or some other party before subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior permission. The consent should not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease prohibits you from letting out the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Sixty One years remaining on my lease in Newport Pagnell. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What options are available to me?

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 extended by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you have used your best endeavours to find the lessor. In some cases an enquiry agent may be useful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document to be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Newport Pagnell.

I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor flat in Newport Pagnell.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is clear the service charge 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 unless 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Newport Pagnell. Conveyancing and Alliance & Leicester mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing solicitor in Newport Pagnell who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Newport Pagnell conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note 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.

I am employed by a reputable estate agency in Newport Pagnell where we have witnessed a number of flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Newport Pagnell conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

I inherited a leasehold flat in Newport Pagnell, conveyancing was carried out 8 years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Newport Pagnell with over 90 years remaining are worth £220,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 per annum. The lease expires on 21st October 2105

With only 79 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £9,500 and £11,000 plus professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.