I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Stansted. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Stansted - 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 Stansted ground floor flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Stansted conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Stansted conveyancing solicitor is no longer around you can review your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the premises. The accepted inference is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to obtain consent from your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior permission. Such consent should not be unreasonably turned down. If your lease prohibits you from letting out the property you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I am hoping to complete next month on a ground floor flat in Stansted. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they will have a report out to me next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
• Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
• An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
• Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in Stansted where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Stansted conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to 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 sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

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.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Stansted conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Stansted conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you make enquires with several firms including non Stansted conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be helpful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?
• How many lease extensions have they completed in Stansted in the last 12 months?

I bought a leasehold flat in Stansted, conveyancing formalities finalised 2003. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Similar properties in Stansted with an extended lease are worth £249,000. The ground rent is £65 charged once a year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2089

With just 63 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to span between £20,000 and £23,000 plus legals.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive investigations. 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 taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.