Jane (my partner) and I may need to let out our Leaves Green garden flat temporarily due to a new job. We used a Leaves Green conveyancing firm in 2002 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

A lease governs relations between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will say 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. The majority of leases in Leaves Green do not prevent an absolute prevention of subletting – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the property. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the tenancy agreement.

I have just appointed agents to market my 2 bed apartment in Leaves Green.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a yearly service charge invoice – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should clear the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to meet my requirements, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently found out that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a leasehold house in Leaves Green. Conveyancing lawyers have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Leaves Green are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Leaves Green so you should seriously consider looking for a Leaves Green conveyancing practitioner and check that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as obtaining the landlord’spermission to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is part of an estate. Your solicitor should report to you on the legal implications.

I work for a long established estate agent office in Leaves Green where we have witnessed a number of flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Leaves Green conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that 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. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 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 at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

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 purchaser.

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Leaves Green conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Leaves Green conveyancing firm) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you talk with two or three firms including non Leaves Green conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be of use:

• What volume of lease extensions have they carried out in Leaves Green in the last twenty four months?

I am the proprietor of a ground floor flat in Leaves Green. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the amount due for a lease extension?

in cases where there is a absentee freeholder or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the LVT to decide the premium.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Leaves Green flat is 1 Southlands Court Southlands Road in September 2013. The Leasehold Valuation Tribunal determined that the premium to be paid by the tenant on the grant of a new lease, in accordance with section 56 and Schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 was £30,541 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 50.57 years.