My partner and I may need to let out our Reynoldston garden flat for a while due to a new job. We used a Reynoldston conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

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

I am attracted to a couple of flats in Reynoldston both have in the region of forty five years remaining on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

A lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As a lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease decreases and it becomes more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is advisable to extend the lease term. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

I work for a long established estate agency in Reynoldston where we have witnessed a number of flat sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Reynoldston conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as 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 buyer need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is 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.

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

If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Reynoldston conveyancing practice) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Reynoldston conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be helpful:

• How familiar is the firm with lease extension legislation?

What are the charges for lease extension conveyancing?

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £225000 garden flat in Reynoldston on Thursday in a week. The management company has quoted £360 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Reynoldston?

Reynoldston conveyancing on leasehold flats typically involves fees being invoiced by freeholders :

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

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Reynoldston leasehold premises is £350. For Reynoldston 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 bought a studio flat in Reynoldston, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Comparable flats in Reynoldston with an extended lease are worth £255,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 levied per year. The lease expires on 21st October 2090

With just 65 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to span between £20,000 and £23,000 as well as costs.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Reynoldston