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

Some leases for properties in Birkenhead 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 see references. Experience suggests 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 consent.

I own a leasehold flat in Birkenhead. Conveyancing and Bank of Ireland mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing solicitor in Birkenhead who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Birkenhead conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am employed by a busy estate agency in Birkenhead where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Birkenhead conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is 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.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Birkenhead from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Birkenhead can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
• Many landlords or managing agents in Birkenhead levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Birkenhead.

Some Birkenhead leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the yearly 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.

If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Organising a re-issued share certificate can be a lengthy process and slows down many a Birkenhead home move. Where a reissued share is required, you should approach 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 it would be advisable double-check via your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is below 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £350000 apartment in Birkenhead on Friday in a week. The managing agents has quoted £396 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Birkenhead?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Birkenhead conveyancing will involve, questions about 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 Birkenhead
• Supplying insurance information
• 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 Birkenhead leasehold premises is £350. For Birkenhead 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 answers.

I acquired a studio flat in Birkenhead, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Similar properties in Birkenhead with over 90 years remaining are worth £197,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 charged once a year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2102

With just 77 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in Birkenhead