Helen (my wife) and I may need to rent out our Rayleigh 1st floor flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Rayleigh conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Rayleigh conveyancing solicitor is not around you can check your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the property. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to seek permission from your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. This means that you cannot sublet without prior consent. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably withheld. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

Back In 2007, I bought a leasehold flat in Rayleigh. Conveyancing and Yorkshire Building Society mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing solicitor in Rayleigh who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Rayleigh conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured 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.

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agency in Rayleigh where we have experienced a few leasehold sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Rayleigh conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as 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 need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. 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 sale.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Rayleigh conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Rayleigh conveyancing firm) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you talk with two or three firms including non Rayleigh conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be of use:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?

What are the legal fees for lease extension work?

All being well we will complete the sale of our £425000 maisonette in Rayleigh in 10 days. The management company has quoted £360 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Rayleigh?

For most leasehold sales in Rayleigh conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Addressing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Rayleigh
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Rayleigh leasehold property is £350. For Rayleigh 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 provide the information.

I purchased a 1 bedroom flat in Rayleigh, conveyancing was carried out in 2002. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Rayleigh with an extended lease are worth £198,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 yearly. The lease terminates on 21st October 2075

With only 50 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £37,100 and £42,800 plus legals.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Rayleigh