I want to sublet my leasehold flat in Buckhurst Hill. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Notwithstanding that your previous Buckhurst Hill conveyancing lawyer is not around you can review your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the property. The rule is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to seek consent via your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet without prior consent. Such consent must not not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I’m about to sell my basement flat in Buckhurst Hill.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a yearly service charge demand – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I am looking at a two flats in Buckhurst Hill both have about 50 years left on the lease term. should I be concerned?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Buckhurst Hill is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the marketability of the property. For most purchasers and lenders, leases with under eighty years become less and less marketable. 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 premises 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 Buckhurst Hill 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 any new 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 reputable estate agent office in Buckhurst Hill where we have experienced a few leasehold sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Buckhurst Hill conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension process 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 kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 buyer.

What are your top tips when it comes to finding a Buckhurst Hill conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Buckhurst Hill conveyancing firm) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Buckhurst Hill conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be of use:

• How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?

Having spent years of dialogue we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Buckhurst Hill. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

in cases where there is a absentee landlord or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to decide the amount due.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Buckhurst Hill flat is 201 & 201a St. Barnabas Road in October 2013. The Tribunal decided that the price to be paid by the Applicants for the freehold interest is £20,071. This case related to 2 flats. The unexpired lease term was 69.26 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Buckhurst Hill