Helen (my wife) and I may need to rent out our Cross Keys ground floor flat temporarily due to a new job. We used a Cross Keys conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Some leases for properties in Cross Keys do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord cannot unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to see references. Experience dictates 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 am looking at a two apartments in Cross Keys both have approximately 50 years unexpired on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Cross Keys is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the value of the premises. The majority of purchasers and mortgage companies, leases with under 75 years become less and less marketable. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property 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 Cross Keys 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 the agreed 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.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Cross Keys. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I work for a long established estate agent office in Cross Keys where we have witnessed a few flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Cross Keys conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner 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. This means that the buyer 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.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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 choosing a Cross Keys conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Cross Keys conveyancing practice) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you make enquires with several firms including non Cross Keys conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• How familiar is the firm with lease extension legislation?
• Can they put you in touch with client in Cross Keys who can give a testimonial?

Leasehold Conveyancing in Cross Keys - A selection of Queries before buying

Most Cross Keys leasehold apartments will have a service charge for maintenance of the block levied on behalf of the freeholder. If you buy the flat you will have to meet this amount, usually in instalments during the year. This could differ from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. There will also be a rentcharge to be met yearly, this is usually not a significant amount, say approximately £25-£75 but you need to check as on occasion it can be many hundreds of pounds. What is the service charge and ground rent on the flat? The prefered form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this situation the leaseholders have control and although a managing agent is usually retained if the building is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent employed by the leaseholders.