I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Dursley. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

If the lease is registered - and almost all are in Dursley - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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.

Helen (my wife) and I may need to let out our Dursley garden flat temporarily due to a new job. We instructed a Dursley 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?

Your lease dictates the relationship between the landlord and you the flat owner; specifically, it will indicate if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. Most leases in Dursley do not contain an absolute prevention of subletting – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the property. In most cases there is a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

Due to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in Dursley. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they are sending me a report within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Dursley should include some of the following:

• Defining your rights in respect of the communal areas in the block.For example, does the lease permit a right of way over an accessway or staircase?

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Dursley where we have experienced a few leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Dursley conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means 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 prior to, 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 buyer.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £200000 garden flat in Dursley in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £408 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 Dursley?

Dursley conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually necessitates the purchaser’s conveyancer submitting enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address these enquiries most will be content to assist. They are entitled levy a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it is in excess of £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration charges, without which the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that you have little option but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

I invested in buying a basement flat in Dursley, conveyancing formalities finalised 10 years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Similar properties in Dursley with over 90 years remaining are worth £231,000. The ground rent is £60 invoiced annually. The lease terminates on 21st October 2085

With just 63 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £16,200 and £18,600 plus costs.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Dursley