Frank (my husband) and I may need to rent out our Sefton 1st floor flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Sefton conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

The lease dictates the relationship between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will say if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. Most leases in Sefton do not prevent subletting altogether – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the property. In most cases there is a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor flat in Sefton.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a yearly service charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you pay the service charge as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Sefton. Am I liable to pay 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. However, 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).

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

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Sefton conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you make enquires with several firms including non Sefton conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be helpful:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

What volume of lease extensions has the firm conducted in Sefton in the last 12 months?

All being well we will complete our sale of a £300000 flat in Sefton next week. The freeholder has quoted £408 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Sefton?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Sefton conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Completing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Sefton
• 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 Sefton leasehold property is £350. For Sefton 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 bought a garden flat in Sefton, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Equivalent flats in Sefton with a long lease are worth £255,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 levied per year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2098

With 73 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £10,500 and £12,000 as well as legals.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. 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 move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in Sefton