I wish to rent out my leasehold apartment in Bedminster. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Notwithstanding that your previous Bedminster conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must seek permission from your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. This means that you cannot sublet without prior permission. Such consent should not be unreasonably withheld. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I have just started marketing my garden apartment in Bedminster.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a half-yearly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is discharge 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 managing agents 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.

I've found a house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have since discovered that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in Bedminster. Conveyancing lawyers have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Bedminster are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Bedminster in which case you should be looking for a Bedminster conveyancing practitioner and check that they have experience in 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 with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the freeholder’sconsent to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is part of an estate. Your solicitor should advise you fully on all the issues.

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in Bedminster where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Bedminster conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with 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.

What are your top tips when it comes to appointing a Bedminster conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Bedminster conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you talk with several firms including non Bedminster conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?
• How many lease extensions have they completed in Bedminster in the last twenty four months?

Leasehold Conveyancing in Bedminster - Examples of Queries Prior to buying

If a Bedminster lease has no more than 80 years it will impact the marketability of the property. Check with your mortgage company that they are happy with the length of the lease. A short lease means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease at some point and it is worth discovering what this will be. For most Bedminsterlease extensions you would need to own the residence for 24 months in order to be eligible to carry out a lease extension.