Helen (my wife) and I may need to rent out our Manningtree basement flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Manningtree conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Manningtree conveyancing lawyer is no longer around you can review your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the premises. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to seek permission via your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet in the absence of first obtaining consent. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease prohibits you from letting out the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I have recently realised that I have 68 years remaining on my flat in Manningtree. I now want to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What should I do?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to track down the lessor. For most situations an enquiry agent should be useful to try and locate and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Manningtree.

I work for a long established estate agent office in Manningtree where we have experienced a few flat sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Manningtree conveyancing firms. Can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having 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 simultaneously with 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 purchaser.

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Manningtree conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

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

• If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £500000 apartment in Manningtree next week. The landlords agents has quoted £348 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Manningtree?

Manningtree conveyancing on leasehold flats usually necessitates the buyer’s conveyancer submitting enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address these enquiries most will be content to assist. They are entitled levy a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it exceeds £800. The administration charge levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in respect of administration charges, without which the charge is not strictly payable. In reality one has little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

I am the registered owner of a basement flat in Manningtree, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Manningtree with a long lease are worth £217,000. The ground rent is £65 invoiced annually. The lease runs out on 21st October 2097

With only 76 years left to run the likely cost is going to be between £11,400 and £13,200 as well as 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 the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Manningtree