I am intending to rent out my leasehold apartment in Beddington. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

Some leases for properties in Beddington do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord cannot unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to see references. Experience suggests that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting consent.

I have just appointed agents to market my basement apartment in Beddington.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is pay the service charge 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 unless 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I work for a reputable estate agency in Beddington where we see a number of flat sales put at risk due to short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Beddington conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have 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 before, or simultaneously with 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.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Beddington conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Beddington conveyancing firm) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you talk with two or three firms including non Beddington 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 helpful:

• How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?

Following months of negotiations we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Beddington. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

Where there is a absentee landlord or if 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 LVT to arrive at the sum to be paid.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Beddington residence is Ground Floor Flat 14 Lodge Road in October 2013. the tribunal held that the price payable for the acquisition of the extended lease of the property should be £12,590 .00 This case affected 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 69.46 years.

What are the common deficiencies that you come across in leases for Beddington properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Beddington. Most leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain sections are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You may have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. National Westminster Bank, The Mortgage Works, and TSB all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Beddington