I want to let out my leasehold flat in Mossley. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Your lease dictates relations between the landlord and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will say if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Mossley do not contain strict prohibition on subletting – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the property. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

I am looking at a couple of apartments in Mossley both have in the region of 50 years left on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Mossley is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the salability of the premises. The majority of buyers and lenders, leases with less than eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of property with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Mossley conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I work for a busy estate agency in Mossley where we have witnessed a few flat sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Mossley conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the seller of a flat can start 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 proposed purchaser 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.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Mossley with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Mossley can be avoided if you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• A minority of Mossley leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the annual 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 buyers or their lawyers.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet 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 details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing.
• If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Obtaining a replacement share certificate can be a time consuming formality and slows down many a Mossley conveyancing deal. Where a duplicate share certificate is needed, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this via your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is below 80 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £ 275000 maisonette in Mossley in just under a week. The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Mossley?

Mossley conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually requires the buyer’s solicitor sending enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer these enquiries most will be willing to assist. They may invoice a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it is in excess of £800. The administration charge demanded by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality you have little option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to sell the property.

I bought a 2 bed flat in Mossley, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. 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? Corresponding flats in Mossley with a long lease are worth £184,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 levied per year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2102

With just 76 years left to run the likely cost is going to range between £9,500 and £11,000 plus legals.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.