Helen (my wife) and I may need to rent out our Westbury On Trym garden flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Westbury On Trym conveyancing firm in 2002 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

A small minority of properties in Westbury On Trym do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably withhold but, in such cases, they would need to review references. Experience suggests that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting permission.

I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Westbury On Trym where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Westbury On Trym conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can start 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 can avoid having to sit tight for 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 sale.

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 buyer.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a Westbury On Trym conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Westbury On Trym conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you talk with two or three firms including non Westbury On Trym conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be useful:

• How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?
• What are the costs for lease extension conveyancing?

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Westbury On Trym with the aim of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Westbury On Trym can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers lawyers.
• The majority landlords or Management Companies in Westbury On Trym levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Westbury On Trym.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Westbury On Trym leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such works. Should you fail to have the consents to hand do not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer before hand.
• If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where a dispute is ongoing. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Arranging a re-issued share certificate is often a time consuming formality and slows down many a Westbury On Trym home move. If a duplicate share is necessary, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £ 350000 maisonette in Westbury On Trym on Monday in a week. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Westbury On Trym?

Westbury On Trym conveyancing on leasehold flats normally involves the buyer’s lawyer sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer these enquiries most will be content to assist. They are entitled levy a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it exceeds £800. The administration charge levied by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration charges, otherwise the charge is not strictly payable. In reality you have little option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Westbury On Trym - Sample of Queries before buying

Plenty Westbury On Trym leasehold flats will incur a service bill for maintenance of the building invoiced by the management company. Should you buy the apartment you will have to meet this liability, usually in instalments accross the year. This may vary from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal grounds. In all probability there will be a ground rent to be met yearly, normally this is not a exorbitant sum, say approximately £25-£75 but you should to check it because sometimes it can be many hundreds of pounds.