Back In 2005, I bought a leasehold flat in Leigh. Conveyancing and National Westminster Bank mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing solicitor in Leigh who previously acted has now retired.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Leigh conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Leigh where we see a number of flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Leigh conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence 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 prior to, 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 purchaser.

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Leigh conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Leigh conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Leigh conveyancing practices prior to 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?
• How many lease extensions have they carried out in Leigh in the last 12 months?

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Leigh from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Leigh can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
• The majority freeholders or managing agents in Leigh levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover 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 reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Leigh.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Leigh leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. Where you dont have the consents in place you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer in the first instance.
• If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is unresolved. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge 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 will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Organising a duplicate share certificate can be a lengthy process and frustrates many a Leigh conveyancing transaction. If a reissued share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £ 475000 flat in Leigh in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Leigh?

Leigh conveyancing on leasehold flats normally results in administration charges raised by managing agents :

• Completing conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Leigh
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Leigh leasehold premises is £350. For Leigh conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to supply the information.

I acquired a garden flat in Leigh, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2005. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Comparable flats in Leigh with an extended lease are worth £260,000. The ground rent is £60 yearly. The lease terminates on 21st October 2093

With just 67 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £17,100 and £19,800 as well as costs.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.