Frank (my husband) and I may need to rent out our Heckmondwike ground floor flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Heckmondwike conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Heckmondwike conveyancing solicitor is no longer around you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the premises. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to obtain permission via your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet without prior permission. The consent must not not be unreasonably turned down. If your lease prohibits you from letting out the property you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of apartments in Heckmondwike which have in the region of forty five years left on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in Heckmondwike where we see a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Heckmondwike conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner 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 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 buyer.

What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a Heckmondwike conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Heckmondwike conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Heckmondwike conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be useful:

• How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?
• What volume of lease extensions has the firm carried out in Heckmondwike in the last year?

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £ 375000 maisonette in Heckmondwike on Monday in a week. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Heckmondwike?

Heckmondwike conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally requires the purchaser’s solicitor sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to such questions the majority will be content to do so. They may invoice a reasonable administration fee for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it exceeds £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the charge is not strictly payable. In reality one has no option but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

I inherited a 1 bedroom flat in Heckmondwike, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Corresponding properties in Heckmondwike with an extended lease are worth £234,000. The ground rent is £55 invoiced every year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2091

With 65 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £19,000 and £22,000 plus legals.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more 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. Please do not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.