I am intending to rent out my leasehold flat in Perton. 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 freeholder and you the flat owner; in particular, it will indicate 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 Perton do not prevent subletting altogether – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the flat. In most cases there is a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

Looking forward to exchange soon on a basement flat in Perton. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they are sending me a report within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Perton should include some of the following:

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord

I own a leasehold house in Perton. Conveyancing and Halifax mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing solicitor in Perton who previously acted has now retired.Any advice?

First contact HMLR to make sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a Perton conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Perton where we see a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Perton conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

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 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 before, 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 buyer.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a Perton conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Perton conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you speak with two or three firms including non Perton conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?

I acquired a basement flat in Perton, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Corresponding properties in Perton with an extended lease are worth £256,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 yearly. The lease terminates on 21st October 2092

With just 67 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £15,200 and £17,600 as well as professional fees.

The figure above 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 are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Perton