My fiance and I may need to sub-let our Tyldesley ground floor flat temporarily due to a new job. We used a Tyldesley conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have since shut 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 Tyldesley conveyancing solicitor is not around you can review your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the premises. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must obtain permission via your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet without prior consent. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably withheld. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord for their consent.

There are only Fifty years remaining on my flat in Tyldesley. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to find the lessor. In some cases a specialist may be helpful to try and locate and prepare an expert document to be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Tyldesley.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Tyldesley. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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).

Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a Tyldesley conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Tyldesley conveyancing firm) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you speak with two or three firms including non Tyldesley conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be of use:

• How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?

What volume of lease extensions have they completed in Tyldesley in the last 12 months?

All being well we will complete the sale of our £500000 apartment in Tyldesley next week. The freeholder has quoted £408 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Tyldesley?

Tyldesley conveyancing on leasehold apartments typically results in fees being levied by freeholders :

• Addressing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Tyldesley
• 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 lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Tyldesley leasehold property is £350. For Tyldesley 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.

Tyldesley Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should consider before buying

What restrictions exist in the Tyldesley Lease? How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments? The prefered form of lease arrangement is where the freehold reversion is owned by the leaseholders. In this scenario the lessees benefit from control and although a managing agent is frequently retained where the building is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Tyldesley