My partner and I may need to sub-let our Clapham ground floor flat for a while due to a new job. We used a Clapham conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

The lease governs relations between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will say if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Clapham do not contain an absolute prevention of subletting – such a clause 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 duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Clapham which have approximately forty five years remaining on the leases. should I be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Clapham. The lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Clapham. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

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. A critical element 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 agent office in Clapham where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Clapham conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can instigate 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 kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 sale of our £ 500000 apartment in Clapham in six days. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Clapham?

Clapham conveyancing on leasehold apartments often involves the purchaser’s conveyancer submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer these enquiries the majority will be willing to assist. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it is in excess of £800. The management information fee invoiced by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration charges, without which the invoice is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that you have no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

I am the proprietor of a a ground floor purpose built flat in Clapham. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the sum payable for a lease extension?

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

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Clapham flat is 23 Chelsham Road in May 2013. the Tribunal fou
nd that the sum of £13,870.00 was payable for the freehold following a vestig order having been granted by Swansea County Court dated 1st March 2013 This case related to 3 flats. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 99 years.

Clapham Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries Prior to Purchasing

Is there a share of the freehold? The majority of Clapham leasehold apartments will have a service bill for the upkeep of the block levied by the freeholder. If you buy the apartment you will have to pay this amount, usually in instalments accross the year. This may differ from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large communal areas. In all probability there will be a ground rent to be met annual, this is usually not a significant amount, say around £50-£100 but you should to enquire as on occasion it could be prohibitively expensive.