I am intending to rent out my leasehold flat in Yateley. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Your lease governs relations between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will set out if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Yateley do not contain strict prohibition on subletting – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the property. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

I’m about to sell my ground floor apartment in Yateley.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you clear 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 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I own a leasehold flat in Yateley. Conveyancing and TSB mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing solicitor in Yateley who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Yateley conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am looking at a couple of maisonettes in Yateley which have about fifty years remaining on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As a lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease reduces and it becomes more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is advisable to extend the lease term. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage companies may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

We expect to complete our sale of a £500000 apartment in Yateley in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £408 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Yateley?

Yateley conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes typically results in fees being raised by managing agents :

• Completing conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Yateley
• Supplying insurance information
• 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 Yateley leasehold premises is £350. For Yateley 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 supply the information.

I invested in buying a basement flat in Yateley, conveyancing was carried out 9 years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Similar flats in Yateley with an extended lease are worth £252,000. The ground rent is £50 yearly. The lease expires on 21st October 2078

With 52 years unexpired the likely cost is going to span between £33,300 and £38,400 as well as professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Yateley