My husband and I may need to let out our Penzance 1st floor flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Penzance conveyancing firm in 2002 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

A lease governs the relationship between the freeholder and you the flat owner; in particular, it will say if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The rule is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Penzance do not contain strict prohibition on subletting – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the property. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the sublease.

Back In 2003, I bought a leasehold flat in Penzance. Conveyancing and Bank of Ireland mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing practitioner in Penzance who previously acted has now retired.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Penzance conveyancing firm 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 freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Penzance where we have experienced a few leasehold sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Penzance conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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 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 has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with 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.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Penzance from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Penzance can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers representatives.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Penzance state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Should you fail to have the approvals to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor first.
• A minority of Penzance leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the annual 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 buyers or their solicitors.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. 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 particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should ensure that you hold the original share document. Obtaining a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming formality and slows down many a Penzance conveyancing deal. If a new share certificate is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible.

We expect to complete our sale of a £ 275000 apartment in Penzance next Wednesday . The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Penzance?

Penzance conveyancing on leasehold apartments often necessitates the buyer’s solicitor sending enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address such questions the majority will be willing to do so. They are at liberty levy a reasonable administration fee for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it is above £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality one has little option but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

I purchased a ground floor flat in Penzance, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Corresponding flats in Penzance with over 90 years remaining are worth £195,000. The ground rent is £50 charged once a year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2082

With only 56 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £26,600 and £30,800 plus legals.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.