Helen (my wife) and I may need to let out our Ruxley basement flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We used a Ruxley conveyancing firm in 2002 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Ruxley conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can check your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the premises. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to seek permission via your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet without first obtaining consent. Such consent should not be unreasonably withheld. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 62 years left on my lease in Ruxley. I am keen to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 have made all reasonable attempts to find the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent would be useful to try and locate and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Ruxley.

Back In 2007, I bought a leasehold house in Ruxley. Conveyancing and Nationwide Building Society mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in Ruxley who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

First contact HMLR to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Ruxley conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I work for a long established estate agency in Ruxley where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Ruxley conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can instigate 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 wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, 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.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £500000 flat in Ruxley in six days. The landlords agents has quoted £300 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Ruxley?

Ruxley conveyancing on leasehold flats more often than not requires the buyer’s lawyer submitting enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to such questions most will be willing to assist. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it is above £800. The administration charge levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration charges, otherwise the charge is not strictly payable. In reality one has little option but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to complete the sale of your home.

We have reached the end of our tether in trying to purchase the freehold in Ruxley. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a Ruxley conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Ruxley premises is 103a Footscray Road in January 2014. The tribunal determines that the premium payable for the extended lease should be £34,500 according to the expert witness valuation calculation This case affected 1 flat.