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

Notwithstanding that your previous Leeswood conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can check your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the premises. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must obtain consent via your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of first obtaining permission. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably turned down. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I am hoping to exchange soon on a basement flat in Leeswood. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they are sending me a report on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

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

• The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and informed of the importance of the 80 year mark
• Are pets allowed in the flat?
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?
• 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
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames
• What options are open to you if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease?

I have just started marketing my garden flat in Leeswood.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a half-yearly service charge demand – what should I do?

It best that you 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 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 Leeswood. Conveyancing and The Royal Bank of Scotland mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received 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 Leeswood who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

First contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Leeswood conveyancing practitioner 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 rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I work for a busy estate agent office in Leeswood where we see a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Leeswood conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

Leeswood Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

Are there any major works anticipated that could add a premium to the service costs? Generally speaking the cost for major works are not incorporated into the maintenance charges, although some managing agents in Leeswood ask tenants to pay into a reserve fund and this is used to offset against larger works.