I wish to sublet my leasehold apartment in Bacup. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?

Notwithstanding that your last Bacup conveyancing lawyer is not available you can review your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to seek permission via your landlord or some other party before subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet without first obtaining consent. The consent must not not be unreasonably turned down. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I only have Seventy years remaining on my flat in Bacup. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What options are available to me?

If you qualify, 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 enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to find the lessor. In some cases a specialist would be useful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Bacup.

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Bacup where we see a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Bacup conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that 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. The benefit of this is 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 before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a Bacup conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Bacup conveyancing practice) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Bacup conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?
• Can they put you in touch with client in Bacup who can give a testimonial?

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £ 200000 apartment in Bacup next week. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Bacup?

Bacup conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes nine out of ten times results in administration charges invoiced by landlords agents :

• Addressing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Bacup
• 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 Bacup leasehold premises is £350. For Bacup 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 supply answers.

I own a split level flat in Bacup, conveyancing was carried out 3 years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Bacup with a long lease are worth £188,000. The ground rent is £55 yearly. The lease finishes on 21st October 2099

With 73 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to range between £9,500 and £11,000 plus professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.