Frank (my husband) and I may need to let out our Frenchay 1st floor flat for a while due to a new job. We used a Frenchay conveyancing firm in 2003 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?

The lease dictates the relationship between the landlord and you the flat owner; in particular, it will indicate if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Frenchay do not prevent an absolute prevention of subletting – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the flat. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Frenchay which have about 50 years unexpired on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

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

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. 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 employed by a long established estate agency in Frenchay where we have experienced a few flat sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Frenchay conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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 for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

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.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Frenchay with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Frenchay can be avoided where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Frenchay state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord approving such changes. Where you fail to have the consents in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in the first instance.
• Some Frenchay leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
• If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.
• If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Organising a duplicate share certificate can be a lengthy process and frustrates many a Frenchay home move. If a reissued share certificate is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

I am the registered owner of a 1 bedroom flat in Frenchay, conveyancing having been completed in 1996. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable properties in Frenchay with over 90 years remaining are worth £266,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 charged once a year. The lease ends on 21st October 2081

With only 55 years left to run the likely cost is going to be between £28,500 and £33,000 plus professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.