I wish to rent out my leasehold apartment in Whaley Bridge. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?

Even though your last Whaley Bridge conveyancing lawyer is not around you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the premises. The rule is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to seek consent via your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet without prior consent. Such consent should not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my ground floor apartment in Whaley Bridge.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should clear the service charge 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 unless 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Whaley Bridge. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

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. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element 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).

I work for a reputable estate agent office in Whaley Bridge where we have witnessed a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Whaley Bridge conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to 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 kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

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 buyer.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £ 225000 apartment in Whaley Bridge on Wednesday in a week. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Whaley Bridge?

Whaley Bridge conveyancing on leasehold apartments more often than not requires the buyer’s solicitor sending enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address such questions the majority will be content to do so. They are entitled levy a reasonable administration fee for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it is above £800. The administration charge demanded by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the charge is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that one has little option but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

Whaley Bridge Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should consider before buying