Harry (my fiance) and I may need to let out our Debenham garden flat for a while due to a new job. We instructed a Debenham conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Debenham conveyancing lawyer is no longer available you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the property. The accepted inference is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to obtain permission via your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. This means that you cannot sublet without first obtaining consent. The consent should not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I am looking at a two maisonettes in Debenham which have about fifty years unexpired on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Debenham is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the salability of the property. For most purchasers and lenders, leases with under eighty years become less and less attractive. 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 premises 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 Debenham 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 They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. 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.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Debenham. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element 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 am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Debenham where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Debenham conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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 sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with 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 purchaser.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Debenham from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Debenham can be avoided if you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• A minority of Debenham leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.

I inherited a garden flat in Debenham, conveyancing was carried out 2002. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Similar flats in Debenham with an extended lease are worth £250,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 invoiced every year. The lease ends on 21st October 2080

With 55 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £32,300 and £37,400 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

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Lease Extensions in Debenham