My partner and I may need to rent out our Booker garden flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Booker conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Your lease dictates the relationship between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will set out if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. Most leases in Booker do not prevent strict prohibition on subletting – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the flat. In most cases there is a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a copy of the sublease.

There are only 72 years unexpired on my lease in Booker. I am keen to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. What should I do?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you have done all that could be expected to find the landlord. For most situations a specialist would be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Booker.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two apartments in Booker which have in the region of 50 years unexpired on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in Booker. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the value of the lease decreases and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is generally wise to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

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

When appointing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Booker conveyancing firm) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you make enquires with several firms including non Booker conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be useful:

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

What makes a Booker lease defective?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Booker. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the premises
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You could encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Barclays , Chelsea Building Society, and Barclays Direct all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

I acquired a ground floor flat in Booker, conveyancing formalities finalised 2009. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Similar flats in Booker with over 90 years remaining are worth £170,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 invoiced annually. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2101

With 75 years left to run the likely cost is going to be between £9,500 and £11,000 plus legals.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.