Frank (my husband) and I may need to rent out our Buckhurst Hill basement flat for a while due to a new job. We instructed a Buckhurst Hill conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your last Buckhurst Hill conveyancing lawyer is no longer around you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the property. The rule is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to obtain permission from your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior permission. The consent should not be unreasonably withheld. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I am employed by a reputable estate agency in Buckhurst Hill where we have experienced a few flat sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Buckhurst Hill conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to 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 to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

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.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Buckhurst Hill conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Buckhurst Hill conveyancing firm) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you speak with two or three firms including non Buckhurst Hill 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 of use:

• How many lease extensions has the firm completed in Buckhurst Hill in the last twenty four months?

What are the legal fees for lease extension work?

We expect to complete our sale of a £350000 flat in Buckhurst Hill next week. The freeholder has quoted £384 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Buckhurst Hill?

Buckhurst Hill conveyancing on leasehold apartments typically involves administration charges levied by landlords agents :

• Addressing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Buckhurst Hill
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Buckhurst Hill leasehold premises is £350. For Buckhurst Hill conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to provide the information.

Following months of negotiations we are unable to 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?

Where there is a missing freeholder or where there is dispute 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 arrive at the price payable.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Buckhurst Hill premises 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 the unexpired residue of the current lease was 69.26 years.

Are there frequently found defects that you encounter in leases for Buckhurst Hill properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Buckhurst Hill is not unique. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain provisions 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 building
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You will encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Barclays , The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Bank of Ireland all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Buckhurst Hill