I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Plymouth. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is registered - and most are in Plymouth - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

My fiance and I may need to sub-let our Plymouth garden flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Plymouth conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Plymouth conveyancing lawyer is not available you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to seek consent from your landlord or some other party before subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining consent. The consent should not be unreasonably withheld. If your lease prohibits you from letting out the property you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 72 years left on my flat in Plymouth. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What options are available to me?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to find the landlord. For most situations an enquiry agent may be useful to try and locate and prepare a report to be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Plymouth.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Plymouth with the aim of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Plymouth can be avoided where you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers representatives.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Plymouth state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Should you fail to have the consents to hand do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your lawyer first.

Some Plymouth 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 obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying 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 you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Obtaining a re-issued share certificate is often a time consuming process and slows down many a Plymouth home move. If a new share certificate is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check via your conveyancers. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is under 80 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 property on the market for sale.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £400000 maisonette in Plymouth next week. The freeholder has quoted £420 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Plymouth?

Plymouth conveyancing on leasehold apartments typically involves fees being levied by managing agents :

• Answering conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Plymouth
• 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 solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Plymouth leasehold premises is £350. For Plymouth 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 the information.

I inherited a 1 bedroom flat in Plymouth, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Plymouth with an extended lease are worth £240,000. The ground rent is £45 charged once a year. The lease ends on 21st October 2097

With 74 years left to run the likely cost is going to be between £11,400 and £13,200 plus legals.

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 due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

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Lease Extensions in Plymouth