Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Gwernaffield. Before I get started I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Gwernaffield - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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.

Jane (my partner) and I may need to let out our Gwernaffield garden flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Gwernaffield conveyancing practice in 2001 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Gwernaffield conveyancing solicitor is not around you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the premises. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must obtain permission via your landlord or some other party before subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of first obtaining permission. Such consent must not not be unreasonably withheld. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord for their consent.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Gwernaffield. Conveyancing and Barclays mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing solicitor in Gwernaffield who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

First contact HMLR to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Gwernaffield conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Gwernaffield. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

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 ensure 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 reputable estate agent office in Gwernaffield where we have experienced a number of flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Gwernaffield conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension formalities 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 kick-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 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.

I inherited a garden flat in Gwernaffield, conveyancing having been completed in 2004. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Gwernaffield with over 90 years remaining are worth £174,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 invoiced annually. The lease ceases on 21st October 2097

With just 72 years left to run the likely cost is going to be between £10,500 and £12,000 plus legals.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

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Lease Extensions in Gwernaffield