I would like to rent out my leasehold apartment in Brixton. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?

Your lease governs relations between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will indicate if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Brixton do not prevent subletting altogether – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the property. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the sublease.

There are only Sixty One years remaining on my lease in Brixton. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?

If 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 lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have done all that could be expected to locate the freeholder. For most situations a specialist should be helpful to try and locate and prepare a report which can be used as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Brixton.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Brixton both have approximately 50 years remaining on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Brixton. The lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

I am employed by a reputable estate agency in Brixton where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Brixton conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 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.

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 buyer.

What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a Brixton conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Brixton conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you talk with several firms including non Brixton conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be helpful:

• How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?
• Can they put you in touch with client in Brixton who can give a testimonial?

We have reached the end of our tether in negotiating a lease extension in Brixton. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a Brixton conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Brixton property is 66 Southwell Road in March 2012. By Order of Deputy District Judge Stone dated 25 January 2012 a vesting order was made. The determination of the purchase price was referred to the Tribunal who decided that the amount payable for the freehold should be£29,612.00 This case affected 3 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 72.58 years.

I acquired a basement flat in Brixton, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Similar properties in Brixton with over 90 years remaining are worth £186,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 invoiced every year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2104

With 78 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £8,600 and £9,800 plus costs.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.