My husband and I may need to rent out our Kingston Park basement flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Kingston Park conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Kingston Park conveyancing solicitor is not available you can review your lease to check 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 need to obtain consent via your landlord or some other party before subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of first obtaining permission. The consent should not be unreasonably withheld. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord for their consent.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 62 years remaining on my flat in Kingston Park. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to find the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent may be helpful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document to be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Kingston Park.

I am attracted to a two maisonettes in Kingston Park both have in the region of 50 years left on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Kingston Park is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the salability of the premises. For most purchasers and mortgage companies, leases with under eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property 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 property 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 Kingston Park conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend 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.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Kingston Park from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Kingston Park can be avoided where you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• The majority landlords or Management Companies in Kingston Park levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Kingston Park.

In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Kingston Park leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord approving such changes. If you fail to have the consents to hand you should not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor in advance.

If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate is often a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Kingston Park conveyancing deal. If a duplicate share is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check via your conveyancers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is below 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £375000 maisonette in Kingston Park in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £396 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Kingston Park?

For most leasehold sales in Kingston Park conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Answering conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Kingston Park
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Kingston Park leasehold premises is £350. For Kingston Park 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 supply answers.

I purchased a split level flat in Kingston Park, conveyancing having been completed 7 years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Comparable flats in Kingston Park with over 90 years remaining are worth £207,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 yearly. The lease expires on 21st October 2103

With only 78 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as legals.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you 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.

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Lease Extensions in Kingston Park