I would like to sublet my leasehold flat in Atherton. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Even though your previous Atherton conveyancing lawyer is not around you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the premises. The accepted inference is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must obtain consent via your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior permission. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably turned down. If your lease prohibits you from letting out the property you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I’m about to sell my 2 bed flat in Atherton.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you 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 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.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Atherton from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Atherton can be reduced if you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• A minority of Atherton leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.

If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is unsettled. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing.

If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Organising a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming process and delays many a Atherton home move. If a new share certificate is needed, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should verify this by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is under 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

Completion in due on the disposal of our £275000 maisonette in Atherton in 5 days. The management company has quoted £384 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Atherton?

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

• Completing conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Atherton
• 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 conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Atherton leasehold premises is £350. For Atherton 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 obliged to provide the information.

Are there frequently found defects that you witness in leases for Atherton properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Atherton is not unique. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the building
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

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. Nationwide Building Society, Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and Britannia 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 does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to pull out.

I acquired a 1st floor flat in Atherton, conveyancing having been completed in 2009. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Equivalent flats in Atherton with over 90 years remaining are worth £225,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 yearly. The lease finishes on 21st October 2080

With 55 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £33,300 and £38,400 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Atherton