I am intending to rent out my leasehold flat in Turvey. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?

Even though your last Turvey conveyancing solicitor is not around you can review your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you must obtain permission from your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. This means that you cannot sublet without prior permission. Such consent should not be unreasonably withheld. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I have recently realised that I have 68 years remaining on my flat in Turvey. I now want to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What should I do?

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 for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to find the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent would be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Turvey.

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have since found out that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are issues purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Turvey. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Turvey are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Turvey in which case you should be shopping around for a Turvey conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the landlord’spermission to carry out changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your conveyancer will advise you fully on all the issues.

I work for a reputable estate agency in Turvey where we have experienced a number of flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Turvey conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

We expect to complete our sale of a £ 400000 garden flat in Turvey next week. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Turvey?

For most leasehold sales in Turvey conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

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

I own a garden flat in Turvey, conveyancing formalities finalised 8 years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Equivalent flats in Turvey with over 90 years remaining are worth £197,000. The ground rent is £55 per annum. The lease ends on 21st October 2081

You have 55 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to span between £27,600 and £31,800 as well as costs.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues 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.