Harry (my fiance) and I may need to sub-let our Oldland 1st floor flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We used a Oldland conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

A lease dictates relations between the landlord and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will set out if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Oldland do not contain an absolute prevention of subletting – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the property. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

There are only Fifty years unexpired on my lease in Oldland. I now wish to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. What are my options?

On the basis that 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 enable the lease to be lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you have used your best endeavours to locate the lessor. In some cases a specialist should be helpful to try and locate and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Oldland.

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

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Oldland can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in Oldland charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Oldland.

A minority of Oldland leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the annual 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 lawyers.

If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Arranging a duplicate share certificate can be a lengthy process and slows down many a Oldland home move. If a reissued share is required, do contact 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 you should verify this via your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential 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 property on the market for sale.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £425000 maisonette in Oldland next week. The freeholder has quoted £408 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Oldland?

Oldland conveyancing on leasehold flats usually necessitates fees being invoiced by freeholders :

• Completing conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Oldland
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Oldland leasehold premises is £350. For Oldland conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to supply the information.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Oldland what are the most frequent lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in Oldland is not unique. All leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the premises
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Accord Mortgages Ltd, The Mortgage Works, and Nottingham Building Society all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to pull out.

I inherited a leasehold flat in Oldland, conveyancing was carried out 3 years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Similar flats in Oldland with over 90 years remaining are worth £242,000. The ground rent is £60 per annum. The lease expires on 21st October 2091

With only 67 years unexpired the likely cost is going to be between £10,500 and £12,000 plus legals.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Oldland