Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Bletchley. Before I get started I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Bletchley - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

Jane (my partner) and I may need to rent out our Bletchley garden flat temporarily due to a new job. We used a Bletchley conveyancing firm in 2002 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Bletchley conveyancing lawyer is no longer around you can check your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you must obtain consent via your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. This means that you cannot sublet without prior permission. Such consent must not not be unreasonably withheld. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

I've found a house that seems to meet my requirements, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently discovered that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Bletchley. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Bletchley are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Bletchley in which case you should be shopping around for a Bletchley conveyancing practitioner and check that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the landlord’sconsent to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the house is located on an estate. Your solicitor will report to you on the legal implications.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £ 375000 apartment in Bletchley in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Bletchley?

For most leasehold sales in Bletchley conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Completing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Bletchley
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Bletchley leasehold premises is £350. For Bletchley 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.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Bletchley what are the most frequent lease defects?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Bletchley. All leases are unique and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You could have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Santander, Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and Alliance & Leicester all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

I inherited a basement flat in Bletchley, conveyancing was carried out in 1996. 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? Similar properties in Bletchley with a long lease are worth £238,000. The ground rent is £65 per annum. The lease ends on 21st October 2081

With 55 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £31,400 and £36,200 plus costs.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.