Frank (my husband) and I may need to rent out our Eccles garden flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We used a Eccles conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Eccles conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can review your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to seek permission from your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of first obtaining permission. The consent must not not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord for their consent.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Eccles. Conveyancing and Barclays mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing solicitor in Eccles who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

First contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Eccles conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am attracted to a two flats in Eccles both have about 50 years remaining on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Eccles is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the value of the premises. The majority of purchasers and mortgage companies, leases with under eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of property with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Eccles conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I work for a busy estate agent office in Eccles where we see a few flat sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Eccles conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence 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 for a lease extension. 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 sale.

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 appointing a Eccles conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Eccles conveyancing firm) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you talk with two or three firms including non Eccles conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be helpful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?
• Can they put you in touch with client in Eccles who can give a testimonial?

I bought a 1st floor flat in Eccles, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Eccles with over 90 years remaining are worth £195,000. The ground rent is £65 per annum. The lease expires on 21st October 2095

With 69 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £14,300 and £16,400 as well as costs.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.