I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Locksbottom. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and most are in Locksbottom - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

Helen (my wife) and I may need to sub-let our Locksbottom 1st floor flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Locksbottom conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Locksbottom conveyancing lawyer is not around you can check your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the property. The rule is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to seek permission from your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior permission. The consent must not not be unreasonably withheld. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

Expecting to complete next month on a ground floor flat in Locksbottom. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they report fully next week. What should I be looking out for?

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

• Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?

An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has

Repair and maintenance of the flat

I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required

Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?

The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building

What you can do if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Locksbottom please enquire of your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Locksbottom

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

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Locksbottom can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers lawyers.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in Locksbottom charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Locksbottom.

If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over rather than ongoing.

If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Arranging a re-issued share certificate is often a time consuming process and frustrates many a Locksbottom home move. If a reissued share certificate is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this as soon as possible.

You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is below 75 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £475000 apartment in Locksbottom on Friday in a week. The freeholder has quoted £300 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Locksbottom?

Locksbottom conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes typically involves fees being levied by freeholders :

• Answering conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Locksbottom
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Locksbottom leasehold premises is £350. For Locksbottom 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 provide the information.

Having spent years of negotiations we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Locksbottom. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

in cases where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the LVT to assess the price.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Locksbottom property 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 affected 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 50.57 years.