My fiance and I may need to sub-let our Addington garden flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Addington conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

The lease governs the relationship between the landlord and you the leaseholder; specifically, 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. The majority of leases in Addington do not contain subletting altogether – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the property. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a copy of the tenancy agreement.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Addington. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

What are your top tips when it comes to appointing a Addington conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Addington conveyancing firm) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you talk with two or three firms including non Addington conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be useful:

• How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?
• If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Addington with the purpose of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Addington can be avoided where you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers conveyancers.
• The majority landlords or Management Companies in Addington charge for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Addington.
• A minority of Addington leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the yearly 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. 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 details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Obtaining a new share certificate can be a time consuming process and frustrates many a Addington home move. If a reissued share is needed, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £ 150000 flat in Addington next Friday . The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Addington?

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

• Addressing pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Addington
• Supplying insurance information
• 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 Addington leasehold property is £350. For Addington 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 required to supply answers.

I am the registered owner of a basement flat in Addington. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the premium payable for a lease extension?

Most certainly. We can put you in touch with a Addington conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Addington premises is 26 Manor Road in July 2010. the Tribunal decided that price to be paid for the freehold was £12,420 This case affected 2 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 76.75 and 88.83.

I acquired a split level flat in Addington, conveyancing was carried out in 2005. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Addington with an extended lease are worth £190,000. The ground rent is £55 invoiced every year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2106

With just 80 years unexpired the likely cost is going to span between £8,600 and £9,800 as well as legals.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs without more detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to 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.