Helen (my wife) and I may need to sub-let our Nantwich basement flat for a while due to a new job. We used a Nantwich conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance 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; specifically, it will set out if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Nantwich do not contain subletting altogether – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the flat. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

I only have Seventy years left on my lease in Nantwich. I am keen to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. What should I do?

On the basis that you qualify, 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 enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you have done all that could be expected to find the landlord. In some cases a specialist would be useful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document to be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Nantwich.

I own a leasehold house in Nantwich. Conveyancing and Norwich and Peterborough Building Society mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in Nantwich who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Nantwich conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Nantwich with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Nantwich can be avoided where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Nantwich leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord consenting to such works. If you dont have the paperwork to hand do not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in advance.

If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where a dispute is ongoing. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge 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 particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing.

If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate is often a lengthy formality and slows down many a Nantwich conveyancing transaction. If a new share is needed, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this as soon as possible.

You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to double-check by asking your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is below 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential 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 premises on the market for sale.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £200000 garden flat in Nantwich next week. The managing agents has quoted £372 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Nantwich?

Nantwich conveyancing on leasehold apartments ordinarily results in administration charges raised by management companies :

• Addressing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Nantwich
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Nantwich leasehold property is £350. For Nantwich conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to supply answers.

I purchased a ground floor flat in Nantwich, conveyancing having been completed in 1999. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Comparable flats in Nantwich with over 90 years remaining are worth £238,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 charged once a year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2090

With 65 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £16,200 and £18,600 as well as professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Nantwich