My husband and I may need to sub-let our Verwood garden flat temporarily due to a new job. We instructed a Verwood conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Even though your last Verwood conveyancing solicitor is not available you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the premises. The rule is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you must obtain consent from your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining permission. Such consent must not not be unreasonably turned down. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Looking forward to exchange soon on a studio apartment in Verwood. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they will have a report out to me tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Verwood should include some of the following:

• Whether the lease restricts you from letting out the flat, or having a home office for business

Back In 2007, I bought a leasehold house in Verwood. Conveyancing and Leeds Building Society mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing solicitor in Verwood who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Verwood conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. 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've recently bought a leasehold house in Verwood. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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 ensure 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).

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £175000 maisonette in Verwood on Tuesday in a week. The freeholder has quoted £396 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Verwood?

Verwood conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes often involves the buyer’s conveyancer submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to such questions the majority will be willing to do so. They may levy a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it is in excess of £800. The management information fee demanded by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the charge is technically not due. Reality however dictates that you have no option but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to sell the property.

I invested in buying a basement flat in Verwood, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Comparable properties in Verwood with over 90 years remaining are worth £268,000. The ground rent is £60 invoiced every year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2074

You have 50 years left to run the likely cost is going to be between £42,800 and £49,400 as well as legals.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

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Lease Extensions in Verwood