Frank (my husband) and I may need to sub-let our Selly Oak garden flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We used a Selly Oak conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Even though your last Selly Oak conveyancing lawyer is not available you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the premises. The accepted inference is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you need to seek consent via your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior consent. Such consent should not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I am looking at a two maisonettes in Selly Oak both have approximately forty five years left on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in Selly Oak. The lease is a right to use the property for a period of time. As the lease shortens the value of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more costly to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

I work for a busy estate agency in Selly Oak where we have witnessed a few flat sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Selly Oak conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the buyer?

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. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as 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 purchaser.

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Selly Oak conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Selly Oak conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Selly Oak conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be of use:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

What are the legal fees for lease extension conveyancing?

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £500000 flat in Selly Oak on Tuesday in a week. The managing agents has quoted £408 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Selly Oak?

Selly Oak conveyancing on leasehold apartments ordinarily necessitates fees being invoiced by managing agents :

• Answering pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Selly Oak
• 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 Selly Oak leasehold property is £350. For Selly Oak 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 obliged to supply the information.

I own a basement flat in Selly Oak, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Comparable flats in Selly Oak with a long lease are worth £238,000. The ground rent is £65 levied per year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2089

With 64 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £16,200 and £18,600 plus 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 due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Selly Oak