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

Even though your previous Ramsbottom conveyancing solicitor is not around you can check your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the property. The accepted inference is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must seek consent from your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior permission. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably turned down. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Planning to sign contracts shortly on a garden flat in Ramsbottom. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they are sending me a report on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

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

• The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and aware of the importance of the 80 year mark

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Ramsbottom. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I work for a long established estate agency in Ramsbottom where we have experienced a number of flat sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Ramsbottom conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser 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 prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Ramsbottom conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Ramsbottom conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you speak with several firms including non Ramsbottom conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?

I am the registered owner of a 2 bed flat in Ramsbottom, conveyancing was carried out in 1995. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Comparable properties in Ramsbottom with an extended lease are worth £220,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 yearly. The lease finishes on 21st October 2092

With only 69 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £13,300 and £15,400 as well as costs.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive 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 clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Ramsbottom