I want to sublet my leasehold flat in Winchelsea. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

A small minority of properties in Winchelsea do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to see references. Experience suggests that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting permission.

Looking forward to complete next month on a garden flat in Winchelsea. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they will have a report out to me on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

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

• The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years

I’m about to sell my ground floor flat in Winchelsea.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a quarterly service charge invoice – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is pay 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 management companies 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.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Winchelsea. Conveyancing and HSBC Bank mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing practitioner in Winchelsea who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

First make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Winchelsea conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured 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 employed by a busy estate agent office in Winchelsea where we see a few leasehold sales put at risk due to short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Winchelsea conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

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. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. 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 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.

I bought a 1 bedroom flat in Winchelsea, conveyancing was carried out in 2007. How much will my lease extension cost? Similar flats in Winchelsea with over 90 years remaining are worth £169,000. The ground rent is £60 invoiced annually. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2099

You have 77 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £9,500 and £11,000 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Winchelsea