Jane (my partner) and I may need to sub-let our Bishops Cleeve ground floor flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We used a Bishops Cleeve conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time seek any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Even though your last Bishops Cleeve conveyancing lawyer is not around you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the property. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to obtain consent from your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. This means that you cannot sublet without prior permission. The consent should not be unreasonably withheld. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

There are only 72 years remaining on my flat in Bishops Cleeve. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have used your best endeavours to find the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent should be helpful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Bishops Cleeve.

Looking forward to complete next month on a leasehold property in Bishops Cleeve. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they report fully tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?
• You should be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
• An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
• Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?
• Repair and maintenance of the flat
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of apartments in Bishops Cleeve which have about fifty years left on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Bishops Cleeve is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the value of the property. For most purchasers and banks, leases with under eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Bishops Cleeve conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Bishops Cleeve with the aim of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Bishops Cleeve can be reduced where you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers solicitors.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in Bishops Cleeve charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Bishops Cleeve.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Bishops Cleeve state that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. If you dont have the paperwork to hand you should not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer before hand.
• If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to verify this via your lawyers. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the lease term is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

I acquired a basement flat in Bishops Cleeve, conveyancing having been completed 2008. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Equivalent flats in Bishops Cleeve with a long lease are worth £262,000. The ground rent is £65 invoiced annually. The lease finishes on 21st October 2096

With only 70 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £9,500 and £11,000 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.