I would like to sublet my leasehold flat in Ilkeston. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Your lease dictates relations between the freeholder and you the flat owner; specifically, it will indicate if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. Most leases in Ilkeston do not prevent an absolute prevention of subletting – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the flat. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

I only have Fifty years unexpired on my flat in Ilkeston. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent may be useful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Ilkeston.

I work for a long established estate agent office in Ilkeston where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Ilkeston conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can commence 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 start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. 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 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.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Ilkeston with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Ilkeston can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
• Many freeholders or Management Companies in Ilkeston charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Ilkeston.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Ilkeston state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord consenting to such alterations. If you fail to have the approvals to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your lawyer before hand.
• A minority of Ilkeston leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, 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 will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
• If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where a dispute is unresolved. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over rather than ongoing.

Completion in due on the sale of our £ 150000 apartment in Ilkeston next week. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Ilkeston?

Ilkeston conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually requires the purchaser’s conveyancer sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address these enquiries the majority will be content to do so. They are at liberty charge a reasonable charge for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it exceeds £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of rights and obligations in respect of administration charges, without which the charge is not strictly payable. In reality you have little option but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

I inherited a 2 bed flat in Ilkeston, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Comparable properties in Ilkeston with a long lease are worth £202,000. The ground rent is £50 per annum. The lease ends on 21st October 2100

With just 74 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to span between £10,500 and £12,000 plus professional fees.

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 without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional 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 placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.