My partner and I may need to sub-let our Colwyn Bay 1st floor flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We used a Colwyn Bay conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Colwyn Bay conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can review your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to seek permission via your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet without prior consent. Such consent must not not be unreasonably withheld. If the lease prohibits you from letting out the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Colwyn Bay. Do I have any liability for 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. It is an essential part 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 appointing a Colwyn Bay conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Colwyn Bay conveyancing firm) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you speak with two or three firms including non Colwyn Bay conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be useful:

• How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?
• What are the costs for lease extension work?

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Colwyn Bay from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Colwyn Bay can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• Many landlords or Management Companies in Colwyn Bay levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Colwyn Bay.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Colwyn Bay state that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Where you fail to have the approvals in place do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor in the first instance.
• Some Colwyn Bay leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable double-check via your conveyancers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is under 80 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

Completion in due on our sale of a £ 400000 flat in Colwyn Bay next Tuesday . The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Colwyn Bay?

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

• Addressing pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Colwyn Bay
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Colwyn Bay leasehold property is £350. For Colwyn Bay 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.

Colwyn Bay Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should consider before buying

Does this lease have in excess of 85 years remaining?