I wish to let out my leasehold apartment in Oldham. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

Even though your last Oldham conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must seek permission from your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet in the absence of first obtaining consent. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease prohibits you from letting out the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years unexpired on my flat in Oldham. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. 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 an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to locate the lessor. For most situations an enquiry agent may be useful to try and locate and prepare a report which can be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Oldham.

I own a leasehold house in Oldham. Conveyancing and Alliance & Leicester mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in Oldham who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Oldham conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Oldham. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, 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 be sure 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).

What are your top tips when it comes to appointing a Oldham conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Oldham conveyancing practice) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you make enquires with several firms including non Oldham conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be useful:

• How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?

I inherited a split level flat in Oldham, conveyancing formalities finalised 2011. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Similar flats in Oldham with a long lease are worth £211,000. The ground rent is £55 charged once a year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2075

With 50 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to span between £39,000 and £45,000 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Oldham