I would like to sublet my leasehold apartment in Pencoed. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?

A lease dictates relations between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will set out if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. The majority of leases in Pencoed do not prevent subletting altogether – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the flat. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a copy of the sublease.

You should [be sent a copy of the lease|receive a copy of the lease]

I am hoping to exchange soon on a garden flat in Pencoed. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they report fully tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Pencoed should include some of the following:

• The physical extent of the demise. This will be the apartment itself but might include a roof space or cellar if appropriate.
• You need to be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
• An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
• What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease?

For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Pencoed please enquire of your lawyer in advance of your conveyancing in Pencoed

I work for a reputable estate agency in Pencoed where we see a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Pencoed conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, 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 buyer.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Pencoed from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Pencoed can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
• The majority landlords or managing agents in Pencoed levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information 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 common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Pencoed.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Pencoed state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord approving such works. Where you dont have the approvals to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in the first instance.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and 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 prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to double-check by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is below 75 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £ 450000 apartment in Pencoed next week. The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Pencoed?

Pencoed conveyancing on leasehold flats nine out of ten times results in fees being raised by managing agents :

• Answering pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Pencoed
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Pencoed leasehold property is £350. For Pencoed 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 provide the information.

I invested in buying a ground floor flat in Pencoed, conveyancing having been completed 2009. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Pencoed with over 90 years remaining are worth £172,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 invoiced annually. The lease finishes on 21st October 2099

With 73 years unexpired the likely cost is going to be between £11,400 and £13,200 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.