I am intending to sublet my leasehold apartment in Leigh. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?

Your lease dictates relations between the freeholder and you the flat owner; specifically, it will say if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Leigh do not contain strict prohibition on subletting – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the property. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the sublease.

Looking forward to complete next month on a ground floor flat in Leigh. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they report fully within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Leigh should include some of the following:

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord

I work for a long established estate agency in Leigh where we have experienced a few flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Leigh conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as 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 can avoid having 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 disposal of the property.

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.

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

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

• How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?

Are there frequently found problems that you come across in leases for Leigh properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Leigh. Most leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the property
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You may encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Birmingham Midshires, Leeds Building Society, and TSB all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

I invested in buying a garden flat in Leigh, conveyancing having been completed 1999. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Similar flats in Leigh with an extended lease are worth £269,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 yearly. The lease expires on 21st October 2090

With just 66 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to range between £14,300 and £16,400 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 the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Leigh