Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Audlem. Before I set the wheels in motion I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and almost all are in Audlem - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

My wife and I may need to rent out our Audlem ground floor flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Audlem conveyancing practice in 2001 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

A small minority of properties in Audlem do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably withhold but, in such cases, they would need to review references. Experience dictates that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting permission.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 68 years unexpired on my lease in Audlem. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to locate the lessor. For most situations a specialist should be useful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Audlem.

Looking forward to sign contracts shortly on a garden flat in Audlem. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they are sending me a report within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

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

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
• The total extent of the premises. This will be the property itself but could also include a roof space or basement if applicable.
• Setting out your rights in relation to common areas in the block.By way of example, does the lease include a right of way over an accessway or staircase?
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in Audlem where we see a few flat sales put at risk due to short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Audlem conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension process 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 start 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 needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Audlem - Examples of Questions you should ask before buying