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

Notwithstanding that your last Penzance conveyancing lawyer is no longer available you can review your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the property. The accepted inference is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to obtain permission from your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of first obtaining permission. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably withheld. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

There are only Fifty years left on my flat in Penzance. I am keen to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What are my options?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to find the freeholder. For most situations a specialist should be useful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document which can be used as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Penzance.

Expecting to complete next month on a basement flat in Penzance. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they will have a report out to me next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Penzance should include some of the following:

• The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years

I have just started marketing my garden flat in Penzance.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is pay the service charge 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 until 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £275000 flat in Penzance in seven days. The landlords agents has quoted £360 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Penzance?

Penzance conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually involves the buyer’s lawyer sending enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer these enquiries the majority will be content to do so. They are at liberty levy a reasonable administration fee for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it is in excess of £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration charges, without which the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality you have no choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

I inherited a ground floor flat in Penzance, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Penzance with over 90 years remaining are worth £192,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 invoiced annually. The lease ends on 21st October 2094

With just 68 years left to run the likely cost is going to range between £12,400 and £14,200 plus costs.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in Penzance