My fiance and I may need to sub-let our Earley garden flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Earley conveyancing firm in 2002 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Even though your last Earley conveyancing solicitor is no longer 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 silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you must obtain permission from your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining permission. Such consent should not be unreasonably turned down. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Looking forward to exchange soon on a basement flat in Earley. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they are sending me a report tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Earley should include some of the following:

• Setting out your legal entitlements in relation to the communal areas in the block.By way of example, does the lease provide for a right of way over a path or staircase?
• You must be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
• The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building

Back In 2004, I bought a leasehold flat in Earley. Conveyancing and Barclays mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing solicitor in Earley who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a Earley conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Earley. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to 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. However, 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 be sure 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).

What makes a Earley lease problematic?

Leasehold conveyancing in Earley is not unique. All leases are individual and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Yorkshire Building Society, Barnsley Building Society, and TSB all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

Earley Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries before Purchasing

Plenty Earley leasehold flats will be liable to pay a service bill for the upkeep of the building set by the landlord. If you acquire the flat you will have to pay this amount, usually periodically throughout the year. This could vary from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built blocks. There will also be a rentcharge for you to pay annual, this is usually not a large figure, say about £25-£75 but you should to check as occasionally it could be prohibitively expensive.