My husband and I may need to rent out our Littleover 1st floor flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Littleover conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your last Littleover conveyancing lawyer is not available you can check your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to seek permission via your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior permission. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably turned down. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

There are only Fifty years left on my lease in Littleover. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What should I do?

If 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 lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the landlord. On the whole a specialist would be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare a report which can be used as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Littleover.

I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Littleover where we see a number of flat sales put at risk due to short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Littleover conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

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 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.

An alternative approach is 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.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Littleover conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Littleover conveyancing firm) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you speak with two or three firms including non Littleover conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

• How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Littleover from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Littleover can be reduced if you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers representatives.
• Many freeholders or Management Companies in Littleover levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Littleover.

I acquired a split level flat in Littleover, conveyancing was carried out 2010. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Littleover with an extended lease are worth £265,000. The ground rent is £65 per annum. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2096

You have 70 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £12,400 and £14,200 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure 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. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously 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.

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Lease Extensions in Littleover