I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Lydney. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Lydney - 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.

I want to rent out my leasehold apartment in Lydney. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Even though your last Lydney conveyancing lawyer is no longer available you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the premises. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to obtain permission via your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior permission. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably turned down. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

There are only 68 years remaining on my flat in Lydney. I now want to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. What should I do?

If you qualify, 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 granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent would be useful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Lydney.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of flats in Lydney which have in the region of forty five years left on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in Lydney. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As a lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is generally wise to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Lydney. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I inherited a split level flat in Lydney, conveyancing was carried out 7 years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Corresponding properties in Lydney with an extended lease are worth £261,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 per annum. The lease terminates on 21st October 2080

With only 54 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £27,600 and £31,800 as well as professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.