My wife and I may need to let out our Lydney ground floor flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Lydney conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

A lease dictates the relationship between the landlord and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will say if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Lydney do not contain subletting altogether – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the property. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

Due to exchange soon on a studio apartment in Lydney. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they will have a report out to me next week. What should I be looking out for?

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

• Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?

I've found a house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have since found out that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Lydney. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Lydney are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Lydney in which case you should be shopping around for a Lydney conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the freeholder’sconsent to conduct alterations. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the house is part of an estate. Your conveyancer should appraise you on the various issues.

I am employed by a reputable estate agency in Lydney where we have experienced a few flat sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Lydney conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can instigate 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. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. 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 sale.

An alternative approach is 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.

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Lydney conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Lydney conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you make enquires with several firms including non Lydney conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be useful:

• How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?

I am the registered owner of a 1 bedroom flat in Lydney, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Equivalent flats in Lydney with over 90 years remaining are worth £219,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 charged once a year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2085

You have 60 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £20,000 and £23,000 plus legals.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive investigations. Do 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 you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Lydney