My partner and I may need to let out our Sonning Common garden flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Sonning Common conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Sonning Common conveyancing solicitor is no longer around you can review your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the property. The rule is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you must obtain consent via your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior permission. The consent must not not be unreasonably withheld. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

There are only Fifty years unexpired on my flat in Sonning Common. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. 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 enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you have done all that could be expected to locate the landlord. In some cases an enquiry agent would be useful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document which can be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Sonning Common.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my ground floor flat in Sonning Common.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge the invoice 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 until 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Sonning Common conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Sonning Common conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you talk with two or three firms including non Sonning Common conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be useful:

• How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?

What are the costs for lease extension work?

Completion in due on our sale of a £375000 flat in Sonning Common on Friday in a week. The freeholder has quoted £408 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Sonning Common?

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

• Answering pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Sonning Common
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• 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 Sonning Common leasehold property is £350. For Sonning Common 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 required to provide the information.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Sonning Common - Examples of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

On the whole the cost for major works tend not to be included within maintenance charges, albeit that some managing agents in Sonning Common ask leaseholders to pay into a sinking fund and this is used to offset against major repairs or maintenance. How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments? What is the maintenance charge and ground rent on the apartment?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Sonning Common