I would like to let out my leasehold apartment in Burnt Oak. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Notwithstanding that your previous Burnt Oak conveyancing solicitor is not around you can review your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the lease is silent, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to seek consent via your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of first obtaining permission. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably turned down. If your lease prohibits you from letting out the property you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I’m about to sell my basement flat in Burnt Oak.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a quarterly service charge demand – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay the invoice 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 until 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've found a house that seems to meet my requirements, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have since found out that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Burnt Oak. Conveyancing solicitors have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Burnt Oak are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Burnt Oak so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Burnt Oak conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example obtaining the landlord’spermission to carry out alterations. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is part of an estate. Your conveyancer will report to you on the legal implications.

I am attracted to a couple of maisonettes in Burnt Oak both have about 50 years unexpired on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As a lease gets shorter the value of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We advise that you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

All being well we will complete our sale of a £300000 garden flat in Burnt Oak in just under a week. The freeholder has quoted £396 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Burnt Oak?

For most leasehold sales in Burnt Oak conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Answering pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Burnt Oak
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Burnt Oak leasehold premises is £350. For Burnt Oak conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to provide answers.

After years of dialogue we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Burnt Oak. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

Most definitely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Burnt Oak conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Burnt Oak property is 20 Orchard Court Stonegrove in June 2009. The tribunal decided that a premium of £11,040 should be payable for the new lease This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 71.55 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Burnt Oak