Helen (my wife) and I may need to let out our Collier Row garden flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We used a Collier Row conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

A lease governs the relationship between the freeholder and you the flat owner; in particular, it will indicate if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Collier Row do not prevent subletting altogether – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the flat. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the sublease.

I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Collier Row where we see a few flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Collier Row conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as 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. The benefit of this is 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 needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Collier Row from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Collier Row can be reduced if you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Collier Row state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Should you fail to have the consents in place do not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer first.

We expect to complete the disposal of our £400000 garden flat in Collier Row next week. The freeholder has quoted £312 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Collier Row?

Collier Row conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally requires the purchaser’s solicitor sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer these enquiries the majority will be willing to do so. They may levy a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it exceeds £800. The administration charge demanded by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the charge is technically not due. Reality however dictates that you have little option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to sell the property.

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

in cases where there is a missing freeholder or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to determine the price payable.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Collier Row premises is 37 Lodge Court High Street in November 2013. the decision of the LVT was that the premium to be paid for the new lease was £25,559 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 57.5 years.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Collier Row what are the most frequent lease problems?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Collier Row. Most leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain sections are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Nationwide Building Society, Barnsley Building Society, and Clydesdale all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to pull out.