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

Even though your previous Melbourne conveyancing solicitor is no longer around you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The rule is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to obtain consent via your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. This means that you cannot sublet without first obtaining permission. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably turned down. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two apartments in Melbourne which have in the region of 50 years left on the leases. should I be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Melbourne. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease shortens the saleability of the lease decreases and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. This is why it is advisable to extend the lease term. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Melbourne. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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 be sure 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 am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in Melbourne where we see a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Melbourne conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that 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 proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

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.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Melbourne from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Melbourne can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers solicitors.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in Melbourne charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Melbourne.
• A minority of Melbourne leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
• If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable verify this via your conveyancers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is below 80 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

I purchased a 2 bed flat in Melbourne, conveyancing was carried out 2001. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Similar properties in Melbourne with a long lease are worth £173,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 charged once a year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2087

With 61 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £20,900 and £24,200 as well as legals.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive 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 taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.