I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in St Johns. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is registered - and almost all are in St Johns - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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.

My husband and I may need to rent out our St Johns 1st floor flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a St Johns conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

A lease dictates the relationship between the landlord and you the flat owner; in particular, it will indicate if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. Most leases in St Johns do not contain an absolute prevention of subletting – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the flat. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the sublease.

I am attracted to a two maisonettes in St Johns both have about fifty years unexpired on the leases. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease shortens the saleability of the lease reduces and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is advisable to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We advise that you get professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

I work for a busy estate agency in St Johns where we have experienced a few flat sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local St Johns conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension process 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 start 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 for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 buyer.

What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a St Johns conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a St Johns conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you make enquires with two or three firms including non St Johns conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be useful:

• What volume of lease extensions have they conducted in St Johns in the last 12 months?
• What are the legal fees for lease extension conveyancing?

Following months of negotiations we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in St Johns. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a St Johns conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a St Johns premises is 73 Walerand Road in August 2012. the result of the findings of the Tribunal led to a premium to be paid for the extended lease in respect of Flat 73 in the sum of £10,040. The premium applicable in respect of Flat 85 was £5,710. This case affected 2 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 72 years.

I invested in buying a 1 bedroom flat in St Johns, conveyancing was carried out 2011. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Comparable properties in St Johns with an extended lease are worth £238,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 per annum. The lease runs out on 21st October 2094

With only 68 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £11,400 and £13,200 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.