Helen (my wife) and I may need to let out our Brondesbury ground floor flat for a while due to a new job. We used a Brondesbury conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time get any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your last Brondesbury conveyancing lawyer is no longer around you can review your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the premises. The rule is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you must seek consent via your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of first obtaining consent. The consent must not not be unreasonably withheld. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

Planning to complete next month on a garden flat in Brondesbury. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they report fully next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Brondesbury should include some of the following:

• The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and informed of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
• The total extent of the demise. This will be the apartment itself but could also include a roof space or cellar if appropriate.
• Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?
• An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
• Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?
• What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease?

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Brondesbury. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before 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).

I am employed by a long established estate agency in Brondesbury where we see a few flat sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Brondesbury conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify 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. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

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.

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Brondesbury conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Brondesbury conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you talk with two or three firms including non Brondesbury conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be of use:

• What volume of lease extensions has the firm conducted in Brondesbury in the last year?
• Can they put you in touch with client in Brondesbury who can give a testimonial?

Having spent months of correspondence we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Brondesbury. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

in cases where there is a missing landlord or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to make a decision on the price payable.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Brondesbury residence is 50a Cavendish Road in April 2014. The Tribunal determines that the premium payable by the Applicant in respect of the extension of the lease for the flat was £82,319. This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired term was 49.26 years.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Brondesbury - A selection of Questions you should ask before buying

The answer will be helpful as a) areas could result in problems for the block as the common areas may begin to deteriorate if services are not paid for b) if the leaseholders have a dispute with the managing agents you will need to have full disclosure How much is the maintenance charge and ground rent on the flat?