My partner and I may need to rent out our Bethnal Green 1st floor flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Bethnal Green conveyancing firm in 2003 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?

A lease dictates relations between the landlord and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will say if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The rule is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. The majority of leases in Bethnal Green do not prevent strict prohibition on subletting – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the property. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the tenancy agreement.

There are only 62 years unexpired on my lease in Bethnal Green. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have used your best endeavours to find the landlord. For most situations a specialist would be useful to carry out a search and to produce a report which can be used as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Bethnal Green.

Back In 2006, I bought a leasehold flat in Bethnal Green. Conveyancing and Santander mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing solicitor in Bethnal Green who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Bethnal Green conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I work for a reputable estate agency in Bethnal Green where we see a few leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Bethnal Green conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £ 475000 garden flat in Bethnal Green in just under a week. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Bethnal Green?

Bethnal Green conveyancing on leasehold flats usually necessitates the purchaser’s lawyer submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address such questions the majority will be content to assist. They are at liberty charge a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it exceeds £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration charges, otherwise the charge is technically not due. Reality however dictates that you have little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to sell the property.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without success. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such issues? Can you recommend a Bethnal Green conveyancing firm to help?

You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a Bethnal Green conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Bethnal Green residence is 137 & 139 Haberdasher Street in December 2013. The Tribunal determines in accordance with section 48 and Schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 that the premium for the extended lease for each Property should be £12,350.00. This case related to 2 flats. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 72.39 years.

I own a studio flat in Bethnal Green, conveyancing having been completed 6 years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable flats in Bethnal Green with an extended lease are worth £245,000. The ground rent is £50 levied per year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2078

You have 52 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £32,300 and £37,400 as well as professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.