Harry (my fiance) and I may need to let out our Brent Park basement flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Brent Park conveyancing practice in 2001 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

A small minority of properties in Brent Park do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to review references. Experience dictates 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 permission.

There are only 68 years remaining on my lease in Brent Park. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the lessor. In some cases a specialist may be useful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document to be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Brent Park.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Brent Park. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

In a situation 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. However, 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).

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Brent Park from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Brent Park can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• The majority freeholders or managing agents in Brent Park levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Brent Park.

We expect to complete the sale of our £325000 maisonette in Brent Park in nine days. The management company has quoted £300 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Brent Park?

Brent Park conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually necessitates the purchaser’s lawyer submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to such questions the majority will be content to assist. They are at liberty charge a reasonable charge for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it is in excess of £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration charges, otherwise the charge is technically not due. In reality you have little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord for a lease extension without success. Can I apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Brent Park conveyancing firm to assist?

if there is a absentee landlord or if 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 decision for a Brent Park residence is 7 Craven Park in June 2009. The tribunal considered it unnecessary to value the garage as an independent investment or to value each flat separately, providing that the marriage value calculation uses only the participating flats. Accordingly, the price determined by the Tribunal was £41,140 This case affected 5 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 73.14 years.