Jane (my partner) and I may need to rent out our Bishops Cleeve 1st floor flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Bishops Cleeve conveyancing practice in 2002 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Even though your last Bishops Cleeve conveyancing lawyer is no longer around you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the property. The rule is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to seek consent from your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet without first obtaining permission. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably withheld. If your lease prohibits you from letting out the property you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement flat in Bishops Cleeve.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a half-yearly service charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you clear the invoice 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I am employed by a busy estate agency in Bishops Cleeve where we have experienced a number of flat sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Bishops Cleeve conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities 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 need not have 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 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 buyer.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a Bishops Cleeve conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Bishops Cleeve conveyancing firm) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you make enquires with several firms including non Bishops Cleeve conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be useful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?
• What volume of lease extensions has the firm completed in Bishops Cleeve in the last twenty four months?

If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £ 475000 garden flat in Bishops Cleeve in just under a week. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Bishops Cleeve?

Bishops Cleeve conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually necessitates the buyer’s conveyancer submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address these enquiries most will be content to assist. They are at liberty levy a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it is above £800. The administration charge levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration charges, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that you have no option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

I am the registered owner of a ground floor flat in Bishops Cleeve, conveyancing formalities finalised 2011. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Bishops Cleeve with an extended lease are worth £177,000. The ground rent is £60 invoiced annually. The lease ceases on 21st October 2087

You have 61 years unexpired the likely cost is going to range between £19,000 and £22,000 as well as legals.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to 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.