My wife and I may need to rent out our Fairford 1st floor flat temporarily due to a new job. We used a Fairford conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Your lease governs the relationship between the freeholder and you the flat owner; specifically, it will set out if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. Most leases in Fairford do not prevent an absolute prevention of subletting – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the property. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the sublease.

Expecting to exchange soon on a studio apartment in Fairford. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they are sending me a report on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

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

• You should be sent a copy of the lease

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

There are plenty of short leases in Fairford. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As a lease shortens the marketability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

I am employed by a busy estate agency in Fairford where we see a few flat sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Fairford conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner 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. This means that the buyer 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 at the same time as completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 offer any advice when it comes to finding a Fairford conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Fairford conveyancing practice) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you talk with several firms including non Fairford conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be useful:

• How many lease extensions have they conducted in Fairford in the last year?

I acquired a 1 bedroom flat in Fairford, conveyancing having been completed 9 years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Equivalent properties in Fairford with a long lease are worth £183,000. The ground rent is £60 per annum. The lease ceases on 21st October 2090

With just 65 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £14,300 and £16,400 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Fairford