Helen (my wife) and I may need to rent out our Turvey 1st floor flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Turvey conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have since shut 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 governs the relationship between the landlord and you the flat owner; in particular, it will set out if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Turvey do not contain subletting altogether – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the property. In most cases there is a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a copy of the sublease.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable price which is making it more attractive. I have just discovered that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are issues purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Turvey. Conveyancing advisers have not yet been appointed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Turvey are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Turvey in which case you should be looking for a Turvey conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the landlord’sconsent to carry out alterations. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the property is located on an estate. Your conveyancer should report to you on the legal implications.

Back In 2001, I bought a leasehold flat in Turvey. Conveyancing and Accord Mortgages Ltd mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing practitioner in Turvey who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Turvey conveyancing practitioner 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 landlord, 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 Turvey where we have experienced a number of flat sales put at risk due to short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Turvey conveyancing firms. Can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is 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 has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

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 buyer.

Completion in due on our sale of a £ 125000 apartment in Turvey in seven days. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Turvey?

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

• Completing conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Turvey
• 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 solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Turvey leasehold property is £350. For Turvey 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 answers.

Turvey Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

Be sure to discover if the the lease includes any adverse restrictions in the lease. For example some leases prohibit pets being allowed in in a block in Turvey. If you like the flatin Turvey yet your dog is not allowed to live with you then you have a very difficult determination. Where a Turvey lease has fewer than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the value of the apartment. Check with your mortgage company that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely require a lease extension sooner rather than later and it is worth discovering how much this will be. For most Turveylease extensions you would need to own the premises for a couple of years before you are entitled to extend the lease. It is important to be aware whether a new roof is being put on or some other significant cost is due in the foreseeable future to be shared amongst the leasehold owners and may well dramatically impact the level of the maintenance fees or necessitate a one time payment.