Harry (my fiance) and I may need to sub-let our Denbigh garden flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We used a Denbigh conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your last Denbigh conveyancing lawyer is not available you can review your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the property. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must obtain permission via your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior consent. Such consent must not not be unreasonably withheld. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

I have recently realised that I have 72 years left on my lease in Denbigh. I need to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. What are my options?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the landlord. For most situations a specialist should be useful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Denbigh.

Back In 2000, I bought a leasehold flat in Denbigh. Conveyancing and Accord Mortgages Ltd mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing practitioner in Denbigh who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

First contact the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Denbigh conveyancing lawyer 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 legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am looking at a couple of flats in Denbigh which have approximately fifty years remaining on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease decreases and it becomes more costly to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend money on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £ 175000 apartment in Denbigh in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Denbigh?

Denbigh conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes typically involves fees being raised by landlords agents :

• Addressing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Denbigh
• 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 conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Denbigh leasehold premises is £350. For Denbigh 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.

Denbigh Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

Where a Denbigh lease has no more than eighty years it will affect the salability of the property. It is worth checking with your bank that they are content with remaining years on the lease. A short lease means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease at some point and it is worth discovering how much this will be. For most Denbighlease extensions you will be be obliged to have owned the residence for 24 months in order to be legally able to extend the lease. This question is helpful as a) areas can result in problems in the building as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate where repairs remain unpaid b) if the leasehold owners have a dispute with the running of the building you will wish to have all the details